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Reps wades into ASUU saga, summons labour minister, AGF, SGF, others
The Minister of Labour and Productivity, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Head of Civil service of the Federation, Accountant General of the Federation, Director General, Salaries, income and Wages Commission, Director General Budget Office, among others have summoned to appear before the House Representatives next week Thursday.
Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria, Femi Gbajabiamila
The Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, gave the directive Thursday at the resumed fact finding meeting on strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.
In continuation of the efforts to find solutions to the lingering strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the Speaker of the House of Representatives alongside his deputy Rep. Ahmed Idris Wase and other leaders of the House on Thursday met with the Head of Service of the Federation (HoS), Mrs Folashade Yemi-Esan, the chairman of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, Mr. Ekpo Nta, among other government officials.
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The meeting was a follow up to an earlier one the Speaker held with ASUU officials on Tuesday, where issues related to the strike were discussed.
The outcome of Tuesday’s meeting led the House leadership to invite the Head of Service, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, the Accountant General of the Federation, among others.
At Thursday’s meeting, NITDA told the House leadership that the Integrated Payroll Personnel Information System (IPPIS), the University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) and the University Peculiar Personnel and Payroll System (U3PS) failed its integrity tests regarding the university payroll, which the agency conducted between March and JUNE this year.
A NITDA official at the meeting told the House leadership that the government directed the agency to test UTAS in October, 2020, and that the platform failed the two integrity tests conducted on it.
He said following the first test, ASUU was asked to go back and review, which it did. Yet, the platform did not meet NITDA’s requirements the second time.
For the third time, NITDA was then asked to conduct tests on UTAS, IPPIS and U3PS, which the official said all the three platforms failed its requirements regarding the payroll system of universities.
Not satisfied with the explanation, Speaker Gbajabiamila asked if NITDA advised the government to take action on the lapses found on IPPIS, which has been in operation by government since 2011. But the NITDA official said they were not in a position to do that.
Gbajabiamila also asked if NITDA queried IPPIS platform, to which the official responded in the negative.
The Deputy Speaker Wase also expressed reservations at NITDA’s action, saying it ought to have advised government on the appropriate action to take in view of its discovery on IPPIS.
However, the Head of Service, in her explanation, said the ministry of communications and digital economy wrote her office following NITDA’s observations about IPPIS on the need to take a holistic look at the platform and that a committee was empaneled to carry out the assignment.
She also noted that IPPIS is not just a payment platform but that it also has a human resource component, which all government agencies have been directed to activate, noting that all those directly under her purview have since complied.
Also, the chairman of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, Mr Nta, told the House leadership that in view of the general agitation in the tertiary education sector, the agency advised the government to look at the possibility of increasing the salaries of the staff in the entire sector, comprising universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
He said, however, that at the end of the day, the government decided to increase the salaries of lecturers in the universities by a certain percentage, while professors were considered for higher percentage.
He said he was not aware of any agreement between the Federal Government and ASUU for salary increment.
Also speaking at the meeting, the acting Accountant General of the Federation, Mr. Sylva Okolieaboh, said under no circumstance should employees dictate to their employers how they should be paid, faulting ASUU’s insistence on UTAS.
After hours of deliberations, the Speaker suggested that a further follow-up meeting with ASUU officials be held on Thursday next week, which the stakeholders subscribed to. The meeting was, therefore, adjourned to Thursday next week.
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), on Wednesday at its Conference Centre hosted the 2026 first quarter edition of its Book Reading Series.
With Dr. Dakuku Peterside, former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime and Safety Administration (NIMASA) as guest author, the event focused on the 204-page publication of the author, ‘Leading in a Storm: Practical Leadership Strategies in Crisis Situations’, published in 2025.
The capacity audience was drawn from higher institutions, the media, Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), and Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), with several others participating virtually.
The Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Felix Ogbe, represented by the General Manager, Corporate Communications Division (CCD), Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, said the book programme, which he described as “a signature event”, speaks to creativity, which is one of the core values of the Board.
He explained that the event is part of the Board’s strategy in fostering intellectual activity and sophistication among stakeholders, as well as building the abilities of Nigerians to operate productively in the oil and gas industry and linkage sectors, which is one of its core mandates.
The Executive Secretary enumerated several initiatives of the Board geared towards advancement of research and technology; notably six centres of excellence in the nation’s six geopolitical zones, each of which has a unique theme.
These are the Niger Delta University, Amassoma, with Marine and Petrochemical Technologies as theme; the Federal University of Technology, Minna (Engineering Design), and Federal University of Technology, Owerri (Local Raw Materials Substitution).
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Others are Modibbo Adama University of Technology (MAUTECH), Yola (Safety and Environment Studies); Usman Dan Fodio University (UDUS), Sokoto (Renewable Energy), and Federal University of Technology, Akure (Geology and Geophysical Studies).
Additional research centres established by the Board include Geosciences Research Centre at the University of Lagos and Marine and Offshore Training Centre at Rivers State University, Port Harcourt.
The latest is the Centres of Excellence in Gas Development at Delta State University, Abraka, being developed in partnership with Seplat Energy Plc.
According to Ogbe, the NCDMB is collaborating with Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited (RAEC), First Exploration and Petroleum Development Company Limited, and the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), to organise the first Nigerian Engineering Olympiad (NEO), which was launched on November 20, 2025 in Abuja.
The Olympiad is to encourage final-year and postgraduate students to be innovative in applying engineering principles to real-world operational challenges in and out of the oil and gas industry.
In the book conversation segment, moderated by Mr. Victor Binawari, Peterside explained the inspiration behind ‘Leading in a Storm…,’ saying, “My own lived experience informed the contents and thrusts of the work.”
He added, “Every single day, Nigerians face one crisis or another, and the experiences posit weakness of leadership.”
He recalled his time at the National Assembly, when he served as Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on the Downstream Petroleum sector, with the unremitting crises in fuel supply.
As NIMASA Director General, he said he had to contend with recurring incidents of piracy within Nigeria’s territorial waters.
“Then the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw many world leaders fumbling, unable to determine how best to safeguard the health of citizens,” he said, adding that another inspiration was drawn from an uncomplimentary remark by a professor at America’s Kellog School of Management.
He said, “The professor remarked that ‘Africa is in a near-permanent state of crises.’ I began to investigate how leaders can perform better in crisis situations; calmness, clarity, adaptability, and resilience are critically important. What kind of choices leaders make when faced with crises would reveal the stuff they are made of.”
He outlined eight competencies of leadership, namely: “Contextual intelligence- the ability to read situations accurately and understand the deeper forces at play; Calm Confidence – which provides emotional stability; Sense-making – which enables a leader to find patterns in chaos and make meaning from confusion; Strategic Decision-making; Clear Communication; Strategic Flexibility; Coordinating Teamwork, and Facilitating Learning.
“Every great leader should rank high enough in these.”
On his style, which relies heavily on storytelling, he stated that stories are relatable, memorable and engaging, and that “stories teach you principles which you can apply.”
In closing remarks, Mr. Teleola Oyeleke, Supervisor, CCD of NCDMB, thanked Peterside for readily accepting the invitation and for the wealth of experience he shared at the event.
He also thanked all participants, while advising them to read and digest the contents of the book.
He also echoed the guest author in challenging attendees to have personal development programmes.
Former Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, on Thursday visited Bauchi State for a closed-door meeting with Governor Bala Mohammed amid growing political realignments in the country.
Obi, who is also a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) opposition coalition, arrived at the Bauchi State Government House where he proceeded to a private meeting with the governor at the Presidential Lounge.
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The purpose of the visit was not immediately known as both politicians held discussions behind closed doors.
Details of the meeting remained undisclosed at the time of filing this report.
However, sources within the Government House suggested that the meeting may be connected to recent political developments and possible alignments ahead of future elections, though this could not be independently verified.
Both leaders are expected to brief journalists after the meeting concludes.
Governor Bala Mohammed, who serves as Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum, has recently been at the center of political speculation regarding his party allegiance.
On March 31, he reportedly hinted at a possible political shift during a meeting with a delegation of the African Democratic Congress led by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, at the Government House in Bauchi.
However, his political engagements appeared to take a different turn shortly after, as he also hosted the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nentawe Yilwatda, alongside Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, on April 1 at the same venue.
The latest meeting with Obi has further intensified speculation about ongoing political consultations and possible future alignments among key political actors.
President Bola Tinubu has requested the approval of the Senate for a fresh external borrowing of $516.33 million, in a move that is expected to further raise concerns over Nigeria’s growing debt profile.
The request was contained in a letter addressed to the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, and was read during plenary on Thursday at the National Assembly.
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According to the letter, the proposed loan is to be sourced from Deutsche Bank and will be used to finance a key infrastructure component under the government’s already approved borrowing programme—the Sokoto–Badagry Super Highway project, a major road corridor designed to enhance connectivity across the country.
President Tinubu, in the request, urged the Senate to give the proposal expedited consideration and approval, stressing the importance of the project to national infrastructure development and economic growth.
Following the reading of the letter, Senate President Akpabio referred the request to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, directing the committee to examine the proposal and submit its report within one week.
The latest borrowing request comes amid ongoing national debates over Nigeria’s debt sustainability, as the federal government continues to rely on external loans to fund large-scale infrastructure projects.
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