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SSANU, NASU Strike Cripple Unical, UniAbuja, UNN, Others
From Ene Asuquo, CalabarThe seven-day warning strike jointly embarked by Non Academic Staff of Nigeria Universities (NASU) and their counterpart, Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU) yesterday crippled activities of many universities across the country, leaving students stranded.It was observed that the main gate of the University of Calabar was locked up by the striking workers.Members of NASU Unical branch joined the strike to press demand for the payment of four months arrears of their salaries.The non-academic staff early Monday morning locked the main entrance of the university barring academic staff and students from entering the institution for scheduled examinations and other activities.Some students said they were in their scheduled halls to take the first semester examinations when NASU members stormed the place and chased students away.Daily Asset gathered that a task force set up by NASU to monitor the strike went from one office to office as well as examination hall to ensure total compliance with the action.According to a source, the President of Unical Students Union Government, Comrade Godsgift Kichi-Akwo confronted the task force and queried their right to harass students or disrupt examinations but he was allegedly beaten up by the staff.Piqued by the alleged attack on their president, some students carrying placards stormed the office of the Vice Chancellor, Professor Florence Banku Obi to register their displeasure.Briefing Obi, the SUG president demanded an apology from NASU and told the VC that another member of his exco was also attacked and wounded by the striking workers.The Vice Chancellor directed that the wounded students and the SUG officials be taken to the institution’s medical centre for treatment.Obi who appealed to the students to remain calm and peaceful was intimated that some striking workers were also attacked and wounded by students.In a telephone chat, NASU Chairman, Comrade Victoria Orok alleged that the students attacked the NASU Secretariat on campus and destroyed everything.Orok accused the VC of sending the students to attack and destroy the secretariat.She disclosed that five members of the union were attacked by the students and they were receiving treatment in the institution’s medical centre. UniAbujaThe situation was not different at the University of Abuja (UniAbuja) as academic activities were temporarily disrupted.The protesting workers blocked the entrance to the university, preventing students and others from going inside.SSANU Branch Chairman Nureden Yusuf, while addressing newsmen said the strike was to protest their four months withheld salaries.According to Yusuf, the unions were on strike to draw the attention of the government to the state of the universities.“You may recall that one of the contentious issues why we went on strike in 2022 was that of the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement.“That agreement ought to be renegotiated every three years and now we are in 2024, that is fourteen years after the last agreement, it is yet to be renegotiated.“Also, we are talking about withheld salaries which President Bola Tinubu in Oct,. 2023 gracefully agreed should be paid to us.“Our counterparts in the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had been paid their four months salaries, but we are yet to receive our salaries.“NASU and SSANU are unions of professionals. We oil the wheel of the university system,” he said.According to Yusuf, apart from teaching, there were other activities carried out by SSANU and NASU members in the university system.Yusuf said that the unions would be shutting down all essential services including security units, healthcare services, water supply, transportation unit, electricity.Also, Chairperson of NASU, University of Abuja, branch, Sadiya Hassan said that it was imperative that the Federal Government paid the four months withheld salaries to the unions.According to her, it was discriminatory and unacceptable for NASU and SSANU to be left out in the payment of the four months withheld salaries.“We are professionals in our different fields that we chose to be in the non-teaching sector,” she said.Hassan urged the Federal Government to do the needful for the workers to return to their duty posts.UNN, EnuguAcademic activities were partially paralysed at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) and the Enugu campus following. The strike affected some ongoing examinations at both campuses of the university.Students who were taking examinations earlier were allowed to finish while those who started their afternoon papers were chased out of the classrooms.The striking members also closed many offices including Students Affairs and others.Some of the students lamented the negative effects of the strike in their studies.A 400 level student of the Faculty of Environmental Studies, Ijeoma Edeh said the strike, if allowed to go on, would affect her seriously.“Please, the government should pay them, otherwise a prolonged strike will spell doom for some of us,” Edeh said.Another 400 student of Architecture, Favour Obichili appealed to the Federal Government to resolve their grievances and meet demands.SSANU and NASU said the warning strike called by their national Joint Action Committee (JAC) was to protest the Federal Government’s failure to pay their members four months withheld salaries during their strike in 2022.Addressing members during an emergency congress in the UNN, Dr. Linus Akata, Chairman of SSANU-UNN flanked by Comrade Ekene Amu, Chairman of NASU-UNN said the emergency congress was to tell their members about the warning strike declared by JAC.Akata said that the strike would be total and comprehensive in UNN, in total adherence and compliance to the directive of the national leadership.He said that all the administrative offices and essentials service sections of the university were already under lock and key,The union leader warned that the unions would deal decisively with any member found defaulting or sabotaging the seven day warning strike.“Members are directed to go home immediately after this congress and stay away from work until the seven-day warning strike ends, as any defaulting member will be decisively dealt with.“This warning strike is total and comprehensive as the administrative block of the UNN, offices, works department, University Medical Centre, University Primary School and among others have been shut down till the end of the strike.“There will be no water and electricity supply from the university hostels, also internet facilities from the university have been shut down for the period as we have directed our members working in these places to go home,” he said.Akata said that the unions had no apology over the seven-day warning strike as their national leadership had done everything necessary to avert the strike by appealing to the government to do the needful.“SSANU and NASU have written so many letters to the government, held several press conferences, led delegations to government officials in a bid to resolve the issue but all to no avail.“So, at the end of this warning strike, if the government did not meet our demand we will also take a directive from our national body on the next line of action,” he said.Akata urged members to go home and relax till the end of the strike but should report any threat or query for not coming to work from management, head of department or faculty to the union. Zaria, Yola VarsitiesThe industrial grounded academic activities at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.Theatres, lecture halls, libraries and laboratories were under lock and key at Samaru and Kongo campuses of the university.Power supply and internet services had been off as many slated computer based tests were cancelled at the university.Chairman of SSANU, ABU Chapter, Mohammed Yunusa said the union complied with industrial action in the university.He said that workers at the Works, Registry and Student Affairs and Bursary Departments had downed tools, adding that it achieved 90 percent compliance.The chairman said that members of the union would hold a peaceful protest and a press conference on Tuesday.“We are the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities; we are the custodians of the university’s rules, we are law abiding citizens and we know what it takes to have a peaceful warning strike.“We have gotten to a point where we cannot sit and watch things as these events are unfolding now. The university system is being run with contributions from all major stakeholders.“Therefore, it is very unfair for the federal government to say one stakeholder is more important than the other,” he said.Similarly, the strike paralysed academic activities at the Modibbo Adama University (MAU), Yola.Michael Omokoro said the shutdown would affect water supply, electricity, internet and all other services rendered by members of the association.“Basically it is about our four months withheld salaries, the 35 per cent wage increment, the N35,000 palliative that stopped in January, the reconstitution of Governing Councils, etc.“During the seven days, there will be no light, water supply, clinic, ICT and all other services because we have withdrawn our members,” Omokoro said. NLC calls for Immediate PaymentIn its reaction, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called for the immediate payment of the withheld salaries of NASU and SSANU members.NLC President Joe Ajaero urged the Federal Government to pay the four months outstanding salaries to avoid drift in the academic sector.In a statement issued in Abuja on Monday, the NLC President said at a time confidence was being restored to the public universities, the worst thing the government could do is to engineer another strike.While ASUU was paid the withheld salaries in full, NASU and SSANU were allegedly denied the full payment.Ajaero said, “There has been no credible reason or explanation for withholding those salaries in the first place.“We recall this singular act plunged the members into indescribable hardship.“Much worse, it defies logic to try to subject members of these unions to discriminatory treatment.“By doing so, the government is clearly courting avoidable industrial disputes,” he said.The NLC President stressed that the effects of the strike on the parties would be unacceptably high, especially for students and parents.He, therefore, urged the government to expeditiously pay up the outstandings salaries“We advise the government not to take for granted the maturity of these unions,” he said.
By Mike Odiakose, Abuja
Immediate past governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello will spend the 2024 Christmas and 2025 New Year days in Kuje prison, Abuja, following refusal of his bail application by the Federal Capital Territory High Court.
Justice Maryann Anenih yesterday adjourned the case until Jan.
29, Feb. 25, and Feb. 27, 2025 for the continuation of the hearing.The former governor is standing trial, along with two others, in an N110 billion money laundering charge brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Justice Anenih had refused to grant a bail application filed by Bello, saying it was filed prematurely.
The judge admitted Umar Oricha and Abdulsalam Hudu, to bail in the sum of N 300 million each with two sureties.
Justice Anenih, while delivering a ruling said, having been filed when Bello was neither in custody nor before the court, the instant application was incompetent.
“Consequently, the instant application having been filed prematurely is hereby refused,” she said.
Recalling the arguments before the court on the bail application, the judge had said, “before the court is a motion on notice, dated and filed on Nov. 22.
“The 1st Defendant seeks an order of this honourable court admitting him to bail pending the hearing and determination of the charge.
“That he became aware of the instant charge through the public summons. That he is a two-term governor of Kogi State. That if released on bail, he would not interfere with the witnesses and not jump bail.”
She said the Defendant’s Counsel, JB Daudu, SAN, had told the court that he had submitted sufficient facts to grant the bail.
He urged the court to exercise its discretion judicially and judiciously to grant the bail.
Opposing the bail application, the Prosecution Counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, argued that the instant application was grossly incompetent, having been filed before arraignment.
He said it ought to be filed after arraignment but the 1st Defendant’s Counsel disagreed, saying there was no authority
“That says that an application can only be filed when it is ripe for hearing.”
Justice Anenih held that the instant application for bail showed that it was filed several days after the 1st defendant was taken into custody.”
Citing the ACJA, the judge said the provision provided that an application for bail could be made when a defendant had been arrested, detained, arraigned or brought before the court.
Bello had filed an application for his bail on November 22 but was taken into custody on November 26 and arraigned on Nov. 27.
From Jude Dangwam, Jos
Conference of Autochthonous Ethnic Nationalities Community Development Association (CONAECDA) has called on the federal government to intensify efforts in the resettlement of displaced persons in their ancestral homes.
The organization made this call at the end of its conference held in Jos, the Plateau State Capital weekend.
Thirty resolutions were passed covering security, economy, politics, governance, culture, languages, human rights and indigenous peoples’ rights among others.
The Conference President, Samuel Achie and Secretary Suleman Sukukum in a communique noted that the conference received and discussed reports from communities based on which resolutions were reached on securing, reconstruction, rehabilitation and returning communities displaced by violence across the Middle Belt.
“After considering the reports from communities displaced by violent conflicts, conference resolved, and called on government to focus on providing security to deter further displacements.
“Call on government to provide security to enable communities to return. Government and donor partners should assist in reconstructing and returning displaced communities,” the communique stated.
The GOC 3 Armoured Division Nigeria Army represented by Lt Col Abdullahi Mohammed said the Nigerian Army is committed to working closely with communities to achieve a crime-free society, urging communities to support them with credible information.
“Security is a collective effort, and we cannot do it alone, the community plays a crucial role in ensuring safety.
“We urge everyone here not to shield or protect individuals involved in criminal activities. Transparency and collaboration, together, with maximum cooperation, we can achieve peace, security, and prosperity for our society,” the GOC stated.
The National Coordinator of CONECDA, Dr. Zuwaghu Bonat in his address at the gathering noted that the theme of this year’s program, Returning, Resettling, and Rehabilitating Displaced Communities, was chosen as a wakeup call on the federal government.
He maintained that the organization is aware that President Bola Tinubu has expressed a commitment to ensuring that displaced communities return to their ancestral lands.
He said similarly, some state governments, including Plateau State, have set up committees to address the lingering matter.
The coordinator however cautioned, “It is critical that we avoid generalizations or profiling. For instance, Not all Muslims are involved in terrorism. The overwhelming majority of Muslims in Nigeria are peaceful and reject extremist ideologies.
“We also know that some terrorists exploit religion to mobilize support or rationalize their actions. However, their atrocities – slaughtering women, cutting open pregnant mothers, and killing children show a profound disregard for humanity and God. Normal human beings would not commit such acts.
“We must also be cautious about lumping banditry with terrorism. While statistics indicate that many bandits and kidnappers may share similar ethnic backgrounds, kidnapping has now evolved into a profit-driven enterprise. This distinction is vital to address the root causes effectively,” he stated.
The Governor of Plateau State, Caleb Mutfwang represented by his Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Middle Belt Nationalities, Hon Daniel Kwada noted that the conference was apt to addressed the various underlying issues bedeviling the region and its people.
“We in the Middle Belt have long been standing at the crossroads of Nigeria’s complex history. Despite our tireless efforts to stabilize this nation, we have faced immense challenges, including underdevelopment, security issues, and marginalization.
“Often, we are unfairly maligned, but gatherings like this offer a chance to change the narrative.
“Such conferences set the tone for better discussions. They allow us to drive processes that bring development, ensure security, and elevate our people to greater heights,” Mutfwang noted.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has called on banks to reinforce their corporate governance principles and risk management frameworks to boost investor confidence during the ongoing recapitalisation exercise.
Dr Emomotimi Agama, Director-General, SEC, said this at the yearly workshop of the Capital Market Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CAMCAN) held in Lagos.
The theme of the workshop is: “Recapitalisation: Bridging the Gap between Investors and Issuers in the Nigerian Capital Market”.
Agama, represented by the Divisional Head of Legal and Enforcement at the SEC, Mr John Achile, stated that the 2024–2026 banking sector recapitalisation framework offers clear guidance for issuers while prioritising the protection of investors’ interests
He restated the commission’s commitment towards ensuring transparency and efficiency in the recapitalisation process.
The director-general stated that the key to bridging the gap between issuers and investors remained the harnessing of innovation for inclusive growth.
In view of this, Agama said, “SEC, through the aid of digital platform, is exploring the integration of blockchain technology for secure and transparent transaction processing to redefine trust in the market.”
He added that the oversubscription of most recapitalisation offers in 2024 reflects strong investor confidence.
To sustain this momentum, the director-general said that SEC had intensified efforts to enhance disclosure standards and corporate governance practices.
According to him, expanding financial literacy campaigns and collaborating with fintech companies to provide low-entry investment options will democratise access to the capital market.
He assured stakeholders of the commission’s steadfastness in achieving its mission of creating an enabling environment for seamless and transparent capital formation.
“Our efforts are anchored on providing issuers with clear guidelines and maintaining open lines of communication with all market stakeholders, reducing bureaucratic bottlenecks through digitalisation.
“We also ensure timely review and approval of applications, and enhancing regulatory oversight to protect investors while promoting market integrity,” he added.
Agama listed constraints to the exercise to include: addressing market volatility, systemic risks, limited retail participation as well as combating skepticism among investors who demand greater transparency and accountability.
He said: “We are equally presented with opportunities which include leveraging technology to deepen financial inclusion and enhance market liquidity.
“It also involves developing innovative financial products, such as green bonds and sukuk, to attract diverse investor segments.
“The success of recapitalisation efforts depends on collaboration among regulators, issuers, and investors.”
Speaking on market infrastructure at the panel session, Achile said SEC provides oversight to every operations in the market, ranging from technology innovations to market.
He stated that the commission is committed to transparency and being mindful of the benefits and risks associated with technology adoption.
Achile noted that SEC does due diligence to all the innovative ideas that comes into the market to ensure adequate compliance with the requirements.
On the rising unclaimed dividend figure, Achile blamed the inability of investors to comply with regulatory requirements and information gap.
He noted that SEC had done everything within its powers to ensure that investors receive their dividend at the appropriate time.
He, however, assured that the commission would continue to strengthen its dual role of market regulation and investor protection to boost confidence in the market.
In her welcome address, the Chairman of CAMCAN, Mrs Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma, said banks’ recapitalisation is not just a regulatory requirement, but an opportunity to rebuild trust, strengthen the capital market, and drive sustainable growth.
Joel-Nwokeoma stated that the recent recapitalisation in the banking sector had brought to the fore the need for a more robust and inclusive capital market.
She added that as banks seek to strengthen their balance sheets and improve their capital adequacy ratios, it is imperative to create an environment that fosters trust, transparency, and cooperation between investors and issuers.
The chairman called for collaboration to bridge the gap between investors and issuers to create a more inclusive and vibrant Nigerian capital market.She said: “we must work together to strengthen corporate governance and risk management practices in banks, enhance disclosure and transparency requirements for issuers.” NAN
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