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Bayelsa Medical University Speaks On 198 Casual Workers Who Were Disengaged

Published

2 years ago

August 23, 2022

Editor

The Vice Chancellor of the Bayelsa Medical University (BMU), Professor Ebitimitula Etebu, has exonerated the State governor, Senator Douye Diri, of any involvement in the decision by the institution to disengage 198 persons improperly absorbed in 2019 during the last administration.

He claimed their engagement was improper and violated the employment rules of the institution.

According to Etebu, the Institution had reverted to status quo due to the intervention of the leadership of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) and the State Commissioner of Education, Gentle Emela.

He said the embattled 198 persons were on casual workers allowances while awaiting the proper employment procedure but the Institution decided to disengage them due to the repeated restive nature of the affected workers and demands for new lecturers needed for the several accredited courses of the Institution.

Prof. Ebitimitula Etebu, told DAILY POST while reacting to claims that Governor Douye Diri was responsible for the sack, that the administration of Governor Douye Diri has nothing to do with the decision to disengage the embattled workers of the Institution.

He added that: “The current Governor has nothing to do with anything. I am the Vice Chancellor, I told them because they were trying to destabilize the institution. Every time they were threatening, saying they are going to do this and that. And I told them, I said, look, you have no use to us, you don’t even come to work and if you ask very well, because of the hard times, we have tolerated them for all this while, but the thing that, they are now trying to take advantage of that fact.”

“People are telling them,’ they have kept you people, as casual workers for this period, you are now entitled to be employed and they have also taken that hook line and sinker. And threatening the management of the university. They go out and tell lies. These are the ones you are hearing. They go and write on Facebook and collude with the opposition. They use it to malign this current administration just to score cheap points for political gains. The institution decides to step them down due to constant security reports of their threats/restiveness to go on protest and make the University unmanageable.”

“Aside from that, in this last quarter of the year, we are going to be embarking on a flurry of advisory visits from over 13 Regulatory bodies and the NUC. This is a ritual in a specialized University like ours. Those outside the system do not understand these dynamics. We need professional lecturers, technologists, technicians etc. Now, all that is in the minds of our people is employment for our “young graduates” irrespective of our specialized requirements. These casual staff were foisted on us with a promise to provide emoluments for their salaries which never came. The University has a regulation of employing 3 academic staff to 1 non-academic staff. Currently, as things stand, our ratio is the reverse. We will implode if we continue in this manner. We don’t want a reenactment of the ugly incident that occurred a few years back in the NDU. Abinitio, BMU advertised & employed its academic, on-academic & principal officers following these due diligence principles.”

“The Governor has nothing to do with this particular situation. I, as the Vice Chancellor, spoke to them and said, I was going to step them down because we have programs that have been approved for us and we were supposed to run those programs, we were supposed to get lecturers to run those programs. So, it is not their employment that is important to us, because we don’t need them in the first place, but because we are in a State where there are no industries, everything is the Civil Service, and the cronies have been able to leverage people who have an appointment to foster them on us, they are now thinking it is their right to get employed. The times are hard, even the government is finding it difficult to pay salaries and all that”.

“They are 198, so when you are quoting me, quote me exactly the way I am telling you, so, I said, I am going to step them down, I didn’t consult the government or anybody, because I am the one running the place. They have been very restive, threatening to go on a protest, I said, okay if you are daring us, I will step you people down, and then we are going to go through the rules of engagement because for every staff that we have employed before they came in, we did advert and employed people.”

Etebu, who, however, pointed out that instead of the institution re-enacting the 2018 sad incident at the State-owned Niger Delta University, Ammassoma where the sack of some workers led to protest and deaths, said the institution had to discontinue the pattern set for the institution by politicians at inception and follow the guidelines laid out by the National University Commission (NUC) on employment of workers with the university system having dual employment, one for the lecturer and one for the non-academic staff, and one for the professional in the health profession.

News

Primary School Pupil Bags N21m Scholarship For Scoring 100% In Maths Competition

Published

5 hours ago

May 20, 2024

Editor

A young mathematics prodigy, Ugwoezuonu Ogechi Zara, has reportedly been awarded a N21 million scholarship after scoring a perfect score of 100% in the primary category of the National Mathematics Competition organised by the Mathematics Association of Nigeria.

An education activist and Chief Executive Officer of Educare, Alex Onyia, disclosed this on Friday via X while expressing pride in Zara’s exceptional performance.

“Ugwoezuonu Ogechi Zara scored a perfect score of 100% in the primary category of National Mathematics Competition organised by Mathematics Association of Nigeria (MAN),” Onyia stated.

Accordingly, Zara’s outstanding achievement has secured her a full six-year scholarship at Evergreen College in Enugu.

“She has been awarded a full scholarship worth N21 million to study for six years at Evergreen College, Enugu,” Onyia added.

The National Mathematics Competition, organised annually by MAN, is a highly competitive event that attracts the brightest young minds from across the country.

On Monday, six students of Divine Rays British School in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State emerged tops in the just-concluded 2024 National Mathematics Competition, organised by Catalyst Consulting and held across designated states of the country.

News

[UPDATED] N30,000 Minimum Wage: Labour Issues Two-week Ultimatum To Defaulting States

Published

5 hours ago

May 20, 2024

Editor

The organised labour comprising of the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress, on Monday, ordered state chapters to issue two weeks ultimatum to states that have failed to implement the old N30,000 minimum wage.

The NLC and TUC took this decision during a jointly held National Executive Council meeting which took place on Monday.

Today’s meeting was held ahead of the meeting with the Tripartite Committee on minimum wage which is slated for

The committee is expected to meet Tuesday after negotiations failed last week following the walkout by Labour as the FG proposed the sum of N48,000 as the new minimum wage.

The Chairman, Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage, Bukar Goni, indicated in a letter of invitation to labour leaders that negotiations would continue on Tuesday.

The Organised Private Sector, on the other hand, proposed an initial offer of N54,000. After dumping the talks, the labour leaders addressed a press conference where they expressed their anger over the FG’s offer.

The National President, Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, insisted on N615,000 minimum wage, arguing that the amount was arrived at after an analysis of the current economic situation and the needs of an average Nigerian family of six.

He blamed the government and the OPS for the breakdown in negotiation, saying, “Despite earnest efforts to reach an equitable agreement, the less than reasonable action of the Government and the Organised Private Sector has led to a breakdown in negotiations.”

In a statement released at the end of the jointly held NEC meeting by the NLC and TUC which was signed by Ajaero and TUC President Festus Osifo, the unions said, “The NEC acknowledges the ongoing negotiations between the NLC/TUC, the Organised Private Sector and the Federal Government regarding the new national minimum wage.

“While appreciating the efforts made thus far, the NEC emphasises the urgency of reaching a fair and equitable agreement that reflects the true value of Nigerian workers’ contributions to the nation’s development and the current crisis of survival facing Nigerians as a result of government’s policies. The NEC affirms its commitment to ensuring that the interests and welfare of workers are adequately protected in the negotiation process.

“The NEC-in-session, therefore, reiterates the ultimatum issued by the NLC and TUC to the Federal Government, which expires on the last day of this month. It emphasises the non-negotiable nature of the demands put forth by Nigerian workers and urges the government to prioritise the resolution of these issues in the best interest of industrial peace.

“NEC-in-session further directed all state councils whose State Governments are yet to fully implement the N30,000 National Minimum Wage and its consequential adjustments to issue immediately a joint two-week ultimatum to the culpable State Governments to avert industrial action.”

The unionists directed that all “affiliates and workers in the Anambra State council mobilise their members to ensure a successful action in the event the State Government fails to meet the demands of workers by Thursday, the 23rd of May, 2024.”

“NEC therefore calls on all affiliate unions, and workers including Civil Society Organisations across Nigeria to remain united and steadfast in solidarity during this critical period. Together, we shall prevail in our pursuit of a fair and just society that guarantees the dignity and well-being of all its citizens.

“The NECs – in – session finally affirms its unwavering commitment to championing the cause of Nigerian workers and ensuring that their rights and interests are upheld at all times,” the statement concluded.

Tinubu through Vice President Kashim Shettima, on January 30, 2024, inaugurated the 37-member Tripartite Committee on Minimum Wage to come up with a new minimum wage ahead of the expiration of the current N30,000 wage on April 18, 2024.

With its membership cutting across Federal and State Governments, the private sector, and organised labour; the panel is to recommend a new national minimum wage for the country’s workers.

During the inauguration of the panel, Shettima urged the members to “speedily” arrive at a resolution and submit their reports early.

“This timely submission is crucial to ensure the emergence of a new minimum wage,” Shettima said.

In furtherance of its assignment, a zonal public hearing was held simultaneously on March 7 in Lagos, Kano, Enugu, Akwa Ibom, Adamawa states, and Abuja.

The NLC and the TUC, in different states, proposed various figures as a living wage, referencing the current economic crunch and the high costs of living.

In their different proposals on the minimum wage, the NLC members in the South-West states demanded N794,000 as the TUC suggested N447,000.

At the North-Central zonal hearing in Abuja, the workers demanded N709,000 as the new national minimum wage, while their counterparts in the South-South clamoured for N850,000.

In the North-West, N485,000 was proposed, while the South-East stakeholders demanded N540,000 minimum wage.

However, the organised labour settled for N615,000 as a living wage.
PUNCH

News

JUST IN: NLC To Picket Turkish Airline

Published

6 hours ago

May 20, 2024

Editor

The national secretariat of the Nigeria Labour Congress has ordered its members in Lagos State to shut down Turkish Airlines in the state on Tuesday over the sacking of seven of its members.

The NLC stated that it would ensure the picketing of the airlines until its management reinstates the affected workers.

According to an NLC statement signed by the union’s General Secretary, Chris Uyot, on Monday, the NLC noted that seven of its members working with the airlines were sacked for unionising under the umbrella of the National Union of Air Transport Employees.

In April, NUATE threatened to picket airlines operating in the country after they had refused their staff the opportunity to join trade unions of their choice.

NUATE said such an act was against labour law for some airlines to make employment conditional upon not joining a trade union, adding that those who threaten workers with sacks, if they join unions, are working against Nigerian laws.

Aside from the seven persons earlier sacked, the NLC noted that it has gathered that the airline is attempting to lay off four other members of the union.

“By the above action of unjustifiable dismissal of their workers, the management of Turkish Airlines has put to waste 10-14 years of service. And this fate has befallen these hapless workers purely on account of exercising their constitutional rights to belong to a trade union. Congress will not tolerate this situation.

“Therefore, the Lagos State Council of NLC is hereby directed to commence picketing of Turkish Airlines in Lagos with effect from Tuesday 21st May 2024 until all staff of Turkish Airlines who have been sacked, dismissed, forced to abandon duty, or forced to resign under duress, including those victimised for their union membership in 2020, have been fully restored to their jobs without any losses of any kind.

“All affiliate unions in aviation are particularly charged to mobilise heavily for the picketing action without fail, please.” the union’s statement read partly.

Meanwhile, the union further stated that the Federal Capital Territory Council would be standing by in case “the need arises to escalate the matter to the Abuja airport.”