Monday, August 19, 2013
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
V.c blames F.G on ASUU strike
BENIN CITY—THE Vice-Chancellor, Wellspring University, Benin City, Edo State, Prof. Godson Igborgbor, has blamed insincerity on the part of the Federal Government and other stakeholders for the persistent disruption of academic activities in tertiary institutions in the country through strike actions.
The vice chancellor, who addressed newsmen to announce that the university was about to graduate its first set of students, lamented the current industrial action called by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, over the non-implementation of agreements reached between it and the Federal Government, saying that rather than maintain the existing universities, government was still establishing more.
He said: “Stakeholders, government and even lecturers themselves, must be sincere. When after negotiations government says, we will do this and say, go back,’ and it is not done, I think government ought to be sincere, so that you will know what to expect. We must admit that education is a very expensive venture and when they go to negotiate, government should be able to say this is what we have.
“Government is still establishing more universities, but I think what they ought to do is to expand and fund the ones we have better. All universities don’t have to produce engineers.
“A university that is well funded and is productive will fund itself and that is the issue. Nigerians have gone to several other countries with the knowledge they got from Nigerian universities, to benefit other nations, so what we need to do is to make our programmes more usable and result-oriented.”
Saying that the university, which is about to graduate its first set of students, has had its entire seven degree awarding programmes on offer, accredited by Nigeria University Commission, NUC. He said “the university, which is owned by Management Science Centre, Lagos, was licenced by the Federal Government, through the NUC. At the moment, we are operating two colleges; College of Natural and Applied Sciences and College of Management and Social Sciences, and seven programmes.”
The vice chancellor, who addressed newsmen to announce that the university was about to graduate its first set of students, lamented the current industrial action called by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, over the non-implementation of agreements reached between it and the Federal Government, saying that rather than maintain the existing universities, government was still establishing more.
He said: “Stakeholders, government and even lecturers themselves, must be sincere. When after negotiations government says, we will do this and say, go back,’ and it is not done, I think government ought to be sincere, so that you will know what to expect. We must admit that education is a very expensive venture and when they go to negotiate, government should be able to say this is what we have.
“Government is still establishing more universities, but I think what they ought to do is to expand and fund the ones we have better. All universities don’t have to produce engineers.
“A university that is well funded and is productive will fund itself and that is the issue. Nigerians have gone to several other countries with the knowledge they got from Nigerian universities, to benefit other nations, so what we need to do is to make our programmes more usable and result-oriented.”
Saying that the university, which is about to graduate its first set of students, has had its entire seven degree awarding programmes on offer, accredited by Nigeria University Commission, NUC. He said “the university, which is owned by Management Science Centre, Lagos, was licenced by the Federal Government, through the NUC. At the moment, we are operating two colleges; College of Natural and Applied Sciences and College of Management and Social Sciences, and seven programmes.”
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Why I prefer Stealing from churches-Robbery Suspect
Anti-robbery policemen attached to Oko-Oba division have arrested a 32-year-old man who allegedly specialised in bugling churches around Oko-Oba area of Lagos.
The suspect identified as Sannu Umaru was reportedly caught in the act inside one of the Pentecostal churches in Oko-Oba, weekend.
Umaru who claimed to be son of a retired army personnel, told policemen during interrogation that he preferred stealing from churches because of the security lapses.
Preliminary investigation, according to police sources, revealed that Umaru was allegedly involved in some robbery incidents in churches around the area. Before his arrest, he allegedly bugled a church where he made away with some musical instruments.
According to Police sources, “on that fateful night, he scaled the fence of the church and went to where the musical instruments were. As he was about carrying the piano valued close to half a million naira, one of the instruments fell down and attracted the night guards who went for him.
“He jumped through the fence with one of the instruments he stole. But he was apprehended by residents of the area who were alerted by the the guards and was brought to the station. He was found to have also burgled another church within the week.”
In his confessional statement, Umaru blamed his indulgence on frustration, saying: “I was tempted to steal because of the death of my father. After his death, I went into scavenging but did not succeed. I chose to bugle churches because it is easier than any other place.
“Aside this, I do not need to be armed. I was scared of carrying arms and did not want to spill blood. That is why I considered stealing in churches as a gentleman’s way.
“What I do is, anytime I go there, I would search the offering boxes. At times I would find money inside, while at other times I would not.
“At Saint Barnabas Church, I did not find any money inside the offering box. So, I decided to steal their music instrument.”
Police sources said Umaru had been charged to court.
The suspect identified as Sannu Umaru was reportedly caught in the act inside one of the Pentecostal churches in Oko-Oba, weekend.
Umaru who claimed to be son of a retired army personnel, told policemen during interrogation that he preferred stealing from churches because of the security lapses.
Preliminary investigation, according to police sources, revealed that Umaru was allegedly involved in some robbery incidents in churches around the area. Before his arrest, he allegedly bugled a church where he made away with some musical instruments.
* Manko
“He jumped through the fence with one of the instruments he stole. But he was apprehended by residents of the area who were alerted by the the guards and was brought to the station. He was found to have also burgled another church within the week.”
In his confessional statement, Umaru blamed his indulgence on frustration, saying: “I was tempted to steal because of the death of my father. After his death, I went into scavenging but did not succeed. I chose to bugle churches because it is easier than any other place.
“Aside this, I do not need to be armed. I was scared of carrying arms and did not want to spill blood. That is why I considered stealing in churches as a gentleman’s way.
“What I do is, anytime I go there, I would search the offering boxes. At times I would find money inside, while at other times I would not.
“At Saint Barnabas Church, I did not find any money inside the offering box. So, I decided to steal their music instrument.”
Police sources said Umaru had been charged to court.
ONDO JAIL BREAK-Police re-arrest 54 prisoners
POLICE authori-ties in Ondo State, yesterday, said 54 of the 175 prisoners that escaped in a jail-break, Sunday, have been re-arrested and returned to the prison custody.
This is coming as it condemned reports of deaths in the jail break as unethical.
A statement by the image maker of the command, Wole Ogodo, in Akure, yesterday, said the fleeing prisoners were picked up in neighbouring villages and towns.
Ogodo declined to give further information on the arrest of the prisoners but Vanguard gathered from reliable sources that immediately they were set free by the bandits that bombed the prison cells they headed for brothels where many of them were picked up.
It was gathered that following tip-off by some village heads in nearby villages and towns, the police swooped on the escapees.
Ogodo who confirmed that some of the prisoners were re-arrested in brothels and neighbouring towns of Owo, Ondo, Idanre and Akure the state capital, added that they had been returned to the Olokuta prison yard.
Investigation revealed that those that were picked up in brothels were more than 20 in number..
Vanguard gathered that the proprietors of the brothels on seeing the swam of customers that invaded the call girls immediately notified the police and they were subsequently arrested.
It was learnt that the tattered dresses of the prisoners gave them out when they visited the brothels.
No death was recorded —Police
Meantime, Ogodo in the statement in Akure clarifying the issue of death reported by some media outfits said: “The publication is complete misrepresentation of the facts of the incident as no such dead was recorded during the jail-break because the attack on the prison was aimed at liberating some members of their gang who were in custody.
“No death was recorded either on the side of the security agents, inmate or any traveller.
“Members of the press are hereby advised to crosscheck their information before publication.”
This is coming as it condemned reports of deaths in the jail break as unethical.
A statement by the image maker of the command, Wole Ogodo, in Akure, yesterday, said the fleeing prisoners were picked up in neighbouring villages and towns.
Ogodo declined to give further information on the arrest of the prisoners but Vanguard gathered from reliable sources that immediately they were set free by the bandits that bombed the prison cells they headed for brothels where many of them were picked up.
It was gathered that following tip-off by some village heads in nearby villages and towns, the police swooped on the escapees.
Ogodo who confirmed that some of the prisoners were re-arrested in brothels and neighbouring towns of Owo, Ondo, Idanre and Akure the state capital, added that they had been returned to the Olokuta prison yard.
Investigation revealed that those that were picked up in brothels were more than 20 in number..
Vanguard gathered that the proprietors of the brothels on seeing the swam of customers that invaded the call girls immediately notified the police and they were subsequently arrested.
It was learnt that the tattered dresses of the prisoners gave them out when they visited the brothels.
No death was recorded —Police
Meantime, Ogodo in the statement in Akure clarifying the issue of death reported by some media outfits said: “The publication is complete misrepresentation of the facts of the incident as no such dead was recorded during the jail-break because the attack on the prison was aimed at liberating some members of their gang who were in custody.
“No death was recorded either on the side of the security agents, inmate or any traveller.
“Members of the press are hereby advised to crosscheck their information before publication.”
ASUU commences an indefinite strike
Two months into a nationwide strike by polytechnic lecturers, Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Monday, began a nationwide strike over alleged Federal Government’s refusal to implement the agreement between it and the union over unpaid entitlements, its National President, Dr. Nasir Fagge, has said.
Polytechnics lecturers are also on strike due to alleged non-implementation of agreements and lack of infrastructure in their institutions.
Fagge spoke in an interview with newsmen, yesterday, at the University of Lagos, UNILAG, after the union’s National Executive Council, NEC, meeting at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State.
He said: “We are embarking on an indefinite strike nationwide because Federal Government reneged on the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signed with ASUU in 2009 to pay lecturers their EARN allowances.”
According to Fagge, Federal Government, in 2009 signed an agreement to pay each lecturer N12,500 per month as EARN allowance, which it has not done since then.
He said: “The allowances include excess work load, high carriage of student per lecturer, responsibility allowance, ranging from administrative responsibility borne by lectures for example, as Head of Department, Deans of Faculties, Examination Officers, Course Advisers and Supervision of thesis.
“The highest any lecture gets from this allowance is N12,500 per month. The truth is that since 2009 no lecturer has been paid any allowance apart from his salary.”
Fagge explained that when the non-payment of allowance was brought to the notice of Federal Government, it said that it forgot to include it in the budget and promised to make amends in subsequent but never did.
Before the commencement of strike, Fagge noted that the union held several meetings with officials of the Federal Government on the issue but regretted that government did not take the union seriously.
He said: “We went ahead to go on a warning strike and they never did anything to avert the industrial action.
“We had series of interaction with the Federal Government at the national level, but to the dismay of ASUU, the government recently came with a new position that they can not pay more than 50 percent of the agreed amount
“It had earlier been reduced to 80 percent by the union.
“Between December and January 2011, the union suspended its industrial action over ASUU/FG agreements. Within the period, the union had series of meetings with Federal Government.
“When the strike was suspended two and half years ago, there was an MoU signed with the Federal Government.
“In the MoU, the Federal Government agreed to inject funds to uplift the infrastructure in the universities which it never did.”
Polytechnics lecturers are also on strike due to alleged non-implementation of agreements and lack of infrastructure in their institutions.
Fagge spoke in an interview with newsmen, yesterday, at the University of Lagos, UNILAG, after the union’s National Executive Council, NEC, meeting at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State.
He said: “We are embarking on an indefinite strike nationwide because Federal Government reneged on the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signed with ASUU in 2009 to pay lecturers their EARN allowances.”
According to Fagge, Federal Government, in 2009 signed an agreement to pay each lecturer N12,500 per month as EARN allowance, which it has not done since then.
He said: “The allowances include excess work load, high carriage of student per lecturer, responsibility allowance, ranging from administrative responsibility borne by lectures for example, as Head of Department, Deans of Faculties, Examination Officers, Course Advisers and Supervision of thesis.
“The highest any lecture gets from this allowance is N12,500 per month. The truth is that since 2009 no lecturer has been paid any allowance apart from his salary.”
Fagge explained that when the non-payment of allowance was brought to the notice of Federal Government, it said that it forgot to include it in the budget and promised to make amends in subsequent but never did.
Before the commencement of strike, Fagge noted that the union held several meetings with officials of the Federal Government on the issue but regretted that government did not take the union seriously.
He said: “We went ahead to go on a warning strike and they never did anything to avert the industrial action.
“We had series of interaction with the Federal Government at the national level, but to the dismay of ASUU, the government recently came with a new position that they can not pay more than 50 percent of the agreed amount
“It had earlier been reduced to 80 percent by the union.
“Between December and January 2011, the union suspended its industrial action over ASUU/FG agreements. Within the period, the union had series of meetings with Federal Government.
“When the strike was suspended two and half years ago, there was an MoU signed with the Federal Government.
“In the MoU, the Federal Government agreed to inject funds to uplift the infrastructure in the universities which it never did.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)