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ASUU Gifts N1.7m To 15 UNIUYO Students

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The Academic Staff Union of Universities, University of Uyo Branch, has distributed more than N1.7 million to 15 financially challenged students of the university who excelled in their academic pursuits.

It also bestowed heroes’ awards on past leaders who guided the union through challenging periods in the history of the branch.

The awardees were honoured during the Heroes’ Day Celebration held at the university on Monday.

The union’s National President, Prof Emmanuel Osadeke, commended the awardees for their steadfastness and selfless service to the union despite the difficulties they faced and urged them to remain committed to the course.

The ASUU president urged past and present leaders of the union to rise against the alleged injustice by
vice chancellors who have turned staff employment into their ‘constituency projects’ by employing all manners of people without due process.

He noted that no university in the country has advertised for vacancies in the past six to 10 years but that staff strength have tripled in such universities, adding that those appointed have nothing to do in the academic world .

“I must heartily congratulate all the heroes honoured today for the sacrifices they made to the point of termination of appointments, seizure of salaries, demotion among other travails for speaking truth to powers for the benefit of others.

“Before now, university employment was done through advertisement followed by rigorous interviews but now how do people get here? It is through temporary appointments. That’s the problem that we have today. I do not know of any university for the past six to 10 years that has advertised, but the staff strength has tripled.

“Vice-Chancellors just sat down somewhere and packed people from traditional rulers, governors, and all other politicians into the Nigerian universities as lecturers and most of them are now scavengers in the system, going after money and all manners of things.

“Unfortunately, university employment has turned into a constituency project and we have to struggle to reverse this misnomer and bring sanity to the system,” he said.

A retired Professor of Ethnocomunicology, Prof Desmond Wilson, in a keynote lamented that the struggles of the union have been made difficult by fifth columnists and other agents employed by the government to cause confusion.

While stressing that heroism was not a blank cheque to misbehavior, the professor urged all members of the union to remain selfless and committed in the fight for the betterment of all and the redemption of Nigerian Universities from its quagmires.

The Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof Nyaudoh Ndaeyo, who was represented by Prof Ben Etuk, commended ASUU for it selfless service to humanity.

He noted that the role played by the union has contributed immensely to the better welfare among the University staff.

Responding, one of the student beneficiaries of the ASUU-UUB scholarship award, Ekpo Friday, from the Faculty of Education commended the union for bringing succour to the indigent students of the institution, adding that the gesture was a morale booster for them to concentrate on their studies to finish their University Education with good grades.

Prof. Opeyemi Olajide, the acting chairperson, stated that the gesture was intended to encourage the students—who were also recognised as exceptional members of their respective faculties—to complete their course of study.

Prof. Joseph Ushie, Prof. Edet Akpan, Prof. Desmond Wilson, and Dr. Etop Ndiyo are among those awarded for their dedicated contribution. Profs. Ashong Ashong and Aniesua Essiet are among the others.

NEWS

Moghalu Prescribes Good Governance As Panacea To Ethnic Agitation

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The President of the African School of Governance, Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu has admonished state actors against resorting to brutal force in the bid to muscle out separatist agitators.

In the aftermath of Mazi Simon Ekpa, the Finland based Biafran nationalist agitator being caught in legal web and the Nigerian government moving swiftly to seek his repatriation, the former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has cautioned that ‘We either fix our problems, or our problems will eventually “fix” us. No alternative to a renegotiated union.’

ALSO READ: Finnish Police Arrest Simon Ekpa Over Terror-Related Allegations

The political economist, while expressing his hope in Nigeria, made it clear that “hope is not a strategy”.

He bared his mind in a series of posts on his verified handle on micro-blogging site, X on Friday.

Moghalu wrote, “Despite sustained contemporary difficulties, I am hopeful about Nigeria. But hope is not a strategy. We need to improve state capacity for effective governance.

“We either fix our problems, or our problems will eventually “fix” us. No alternative to a renegotiated union.

“We must learn to be honest with ourselves and address the root causes of our problems. Why ignore them, when the problem is actually quite solvable? The problem with continuing with this approach is that when the danger crystallizes, those who thought they were benefiting from

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NEWS

N1.7trn Loan: Atiku Blames NASS For Worsening Nigeria’s Debt Burden

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Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has criticized the federal government’s plan to secure an additional N1.7 trillion loan through Eurobonds to cover a shortfall in the 2024 budget, describing the borrowing as unsustainable and harmful to Nigeria’s economy.

In a statement shared on Thursday via his X (formerly Twitter) handle, Atiku accused the Bola Tinubu-led administration of burdening Nigerians with debt while failing to provide clear answers about the country’s fiscal challenges.

READ ALSO: CSR: Dangote Cement Fuels Education With Support Projects At Lagos Schools

He also faulted the National Assembly for enabling what he called a “voracious appetite” for loans.

The former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate expressed alarm over a recent World Bank report ranking Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), calling the development troubling.

“The recent report released by the World Bank, showing Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), is very concerning,” Atiku stated.

He raised further concerns about the government’s decision to benchmark the proposed loan at an exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official rate being over N1,600.

“What makes this particular loan proposal even more concerning is that it is benchmarked at the exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, whereas the current exchange rate from the Central Bank of Nigeria stands at over N1,600 to 1 USD,” he said.

Atiku questioned the need for additional borrowing, given the government’s earlier claims of record-high revenue collection.

“In July this year, Tinubu boasted that the FIRS and Customs under his watch had collected all-time high revenues to finance the budget. Why are they still borrowing?” he said

He accused the government of a lack of transparency, describing the borrowing spree as detrimental to Nigerians already struggling under economic hardship.

“There is something that they are not telling Nigerians, even as they are being crushed by a combination of their failed trial-and-error policies and loan rackets.”

Atiku also referenced a report by BudgIT, a budget monitoring group, which criticized the 2024 budget for its inefficiencies.

He alleged that corruption, rather than infrastructure or development needs, was driving the government’s borrowing decisions.

“These loans are powered by corruption and not for infrastructure and development needs. This voracious appetite for humongous loans is deeply concerning,” he said.

Reflecting on Nigeria’s financial history, Atiku lamented the return to significant foreign indebtedness just years after former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration cleared the country’s debt.

“It is agonizing to see that just a few years after the Obasanjo administration took us out of foreign indebtedness, we are today back at the top spot in the same conundrum,” he stated.

He called for a more cautious approach to borrowing, urging the government to prioritize fiscal responsibility and transparency to avoid worsening Nigeria’s economic challenges.

 

 

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International News

ICC Issues Arrest Warrants For Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Others

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The International Criminal Court (ICC) has taken a historic step, issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The charges include crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed during Israel’s recent assault on Gaza.

In a detailed statement, the ICC accused the Israeli leaders of “intentionally and knowingly depriving the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.”

READ MORE: Osun Govt Decries Attempted Murder Of Park Mgt  Chairman By Police

The ICC’s move marks a significant escalation in international scrutiny of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Netanyahu and Gallant are alleged to have orchestrated policies that caused severe harm to the civilian population in Gaza, leading to widespread condemnation from human rights organizations.

Alongside the charges against Israeli officials, the ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif. Deif has long been a central figure in Hamas’s military operations. Israel’s military claims to have killed him in a July airstrike, although this has not been independently verified.

The warrants highlight growing calls for accountability amid the ongoing conflict in the region. The ICC’s actions are likely to provoke heated debate and may complicate diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the crisis.

With the warrants issued, global attention now turns to how the international community will respond and whether any practical steps will be taken to enforce them.

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