News

Terrorism: Why Nigeria’s Insecurity Will Never End Soon — Unionist

Published

3 years ago

July 28, 2022

Veteran trade unionist, Peter Esele has warned the Federal Government that the pervading insecurity in the country will never end unless public universities are re-opened.

Mr Esele, a former President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) of Nigeria, gave the warning while commenting on the solidarity protest embarked upon by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

He was speaking in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Benin.

The NLC called up the protest on July 26 to show solidarity with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which has been on strike for over five months.

The academic body has been at loggerheads with the Federal Government over the years for the apparent inability of the government to meet the terms of its agreements with the union.

According to Esele, the NLC ought to have staged the protest a long time ago to show its displeasure but “better late than never.’’

He pointed out that the current strike could hurt the upcoming general elections, advising the government to take steps to resolve the issues with ASUU, to save the future of democracy in the country.

The former TUC chief noted that the latest ASUU strike could have been avoided if the Federal Government had kept faith and respected the terms of agreements reached with ASUU.

“If you ask why ASUU is on strike right now, it is because they had negotiations with the Federal Government in 2009 and there was an agreement.

“That agreement was supposed to have been implemented by the government but they didn’t implement it.

“In 2014, the government paid N200 billion out of the N1.2 trillion ASUU demanded and in 2019, the government paid only N20 billion.

“So when the government has gone ahead not to fulfil the terms of agreements reached, what you have naturally is for ASUU to go on strike to press its demands,” he said.

Esele said that the solidarity protest by the NLC nationwide was to make everybody know that the continuous closure of public universities in the country was dangerous for the nation and the education sector in particular.

He pointed out that from 1999 till date, the nation’s universities had been shut cumulatively for about six years.

“Yet, we express surprise over the current insecurity. You have millions of Nigerian youths sitting at home and doing nothing.

“More so, infrastructure in the universities are decaying because nobody is there to manage them. You have an economy around universities, right now that economy is nil.

“Workers in that environment, real estate and even parents in the universities’ environment are all at home, so why are you surprised about insecurity.

“An idle mind, they say, is the devil’s workshop,” he warned.

Esele stressed that if the government had been committed to honouring agreements reached with ASUU and paid N200 billion yearly since the agreement was reached, it would have long completed the payment and forestalled the strike by ASUU.

News

Edo To Dredge Ikpoba River For Revenue, Flood Control

Published

10 hours ago

July 3, 2025

Editor

Edo State government has proposed the dredging of Ikpoba River to curb flooding and exploring potentials for enhancing revenue generation in the state.

The state Commissioner for Mining, Hon. Andrew Ijegbai, disclosed this when he led a delegation on an inspection of the river in Benin City.

According to him, the initiative was to find a lasting solution to the incessant challenges of flooding and river overflow on the busy road.

He added that his team was on the ground to assess the condition of the river to get a firsthand observation of its impact on communities near its bank.

Also speaking, Director of Mining in the ministry, Mr. Omoruyi Ihianle expressed the state government’s determination to turn challenges into successes.

He stated that the primary objectives of the project were to generate revenue for the state government through mining and to mitigate flooding in the host communities.

“As a government, we have found a way of converting our challenges until success.

“As a result of the silted river channel, the host communities have been suffering from flooding, hence the Edo State Government is stepping in to desilt while raising revenue for the State Government,” he said.

News

JUST IN: Ex-Eagles Goalkeeper, Peter Rufai, Is Dead

Published

12 hours ago

July 3, 2025

Editor

Peter Rufai, the former Super Eagles goalkeeper, has died.

Waidi Akanni, a former teammate and associate, confirmed the legendary goalkeeper’s death to TheCable on Thursday.

Rufai, affectionately nicknamed Dodo Mayana, died at 61 after a reported battle with long-term illness.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria also announced the demise of the former goalkeeper on the team’s official X account.

“Forever in our hearts, Dodo Mayana. We mourn the passing of legendary Super Eagles goalkeeper, Peter Rufai, a giant of Nigerian football and a 1994 AFCON champion,” the post reads.

“Your legacy lives on between the sticks and beyond.”

Rufai is regarded as one of the best football goalkeepers Nigeria has ever produced. He was the Eagles’ first-choice goalkeeper when Nigeria won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

He also represented Nigeria at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the US and the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France.

Rufai had over 60 caps for the Super Eagles over the course of a decade with the team.

News

AMCON Sells Ibadan DisCo For N100bn

Published

16 hours ago

July 3, 2025

Editor

The Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) has announced the sale of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) for N100 billion.

AMCON’s Managing Director/CEO, Gbenga Alake, disclosed this at a media parley on Thursday.

Apart from IBEDC, AMCON also manages other distribution companies, including the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), Benin Electricity Distribution Company, Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company, and Kano Electricity Distribution Company.

Alake said, “Today, I announce to you that Ibadan DisCo has been sold. When we came in, it had already been sold, but we renegotiated the price and got almost double of what it was initially going to be sold for.”

Regarding ongoing legal issues, Alake stated, “We have sold it, and whatever is still happening in court, we will face it.”

However, officials of IBEDC did not respond to inquiries about the sale.