Headlines
ASUU Demands Withdrawal of Education Minister’s Certificate over Strike
The Academic Staff Union of Universities has written to the University of Jos, demanding a probe and the recall of the doctorate degree of the Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba.
Also on Wednesday, students from different tertiary institutions in the Edo State protested the lingering ASUU strike in Benin, the state capital.
ASUU, which commenced a warning strike on February 14, 2022 has yet to call off the industrial action.
Some of the demands of the union include the demand for university autonomy, release of revitalisation funds for Nigerian universities, and the deployment of the University Transparency Accountability and Solution payment platform for the payment of salaries and allowances of university lecturers among others.
The government and the union have yet to reach an agreement on the issues raised.
As the disagreements linger, Nwajiuba confirmed to The PUNCH that the union had written to UNIJOS asking for the recall of his certificate.
The minister said, “ASUU wrote UNIJOS to recall my certificate. I am not sure what it is they are pursuing. I was informed by the university that this was the directive from ASUU: to investigate my certificate. That is how far they have gone.
“When I got the letter from the university, in fact, the university didn’t hide it, they noted that ASUU wrote them.”
The strike has, however, been taking its toll on the students, some of whom have been complaining of its adverse effects on them.
Vehicular and human movements were disrupted in parts of Benin for several hours on Wednesday as students from across tertiary institutions in the state protested the continued strike.
They asked for government’s intervention as they vowed to continue a daily stay in the city centre until their demands are met.
The students mobilised from the University of Benin, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma and the Federal Polytechnic, Auchi.
They displayed placards with various inscriptions and blocked the Oba Ovonramwen Square popularly called Ring Road to express their grievances.
Their action resulted in traffic gridlock around the axis, including Akpakpava, Mission and Forestry roads.
Speaking on the issue, National Vice President, Special Duties of the National Association of Nigerian Students, Idiahi Thomas, faulted Nigeria’s educational sector, saying, “our leaders have bastardised it, and, as it is, Nigerian students are at home and yet, government officials are busy purchasing forms for N100 million, an amount presidents of other countries cannot earn constitutionally throughout their four-year tenure.
“If the Federal Government does not want us to remain here, they know what to do. You are taking a course of four years or five years, but the strike makes you spend six to seven years. Post graduate students who are supposed to spend 18 months are spending two to three years and some get frustrated and abandon their programme.”
A student Union leader from AAU, Abumere Joseph, said, “We are tired of staying at home. For the past three months, we have not attended classes, I was supposed to graduate in April but as it is now, I don’t know when I will graduate, I have been in one level for close to two years, so we are tired.”
On his part, the President, Students Union Government of UNIBEN, Foster Amadin, said the strike is “suffocating the dreams of Nigerian students while politicians go about their political ambitions and the striking lecturers are going about their individual businesses.”
A civil right leader, Kola Edokpayi, said the government does not respect the wishes of the people of Nigeria lamenting that “Our students are at home, yet the Minister of State for Education was able to buy a presidential nomination form of N100m.”
The Punch
US President Donald Trump has signed a federal spending bill, officially ending the longest government shutdown in American history.
The legislation, passed by the House of Representatives in a 222–209 vote, followed narrow approval in the Senate just two days earlier. The bill restores funding to federal agencies after 43 days of closure, bringing relief to millions of government employees and citizens affected by halted services.
Speaking after signing the measure on Wednesday night, Trump described the deal as a political victory, asserting that Democrats unnecessarily prolonged the shutdown.
“They didn’t want to do it the easy way. They had to do it the hard way, and they look very bad,” he said.
The temporary funding bill maintains government operations only through 30 January, creating a new deadline for lawmakers to negotiate a long-term budget solution.
As part of the agreement, Senate leaders committed to an early December vote on Obamacare subsidies, a key priority for Democrats during the shutdown standoff.
In addition to reopening federal offices, the bill provides full-year funding for the Department of Agriculture, military construction projects, and several legislative branch offices.
It also ensures retroactive pay for federal workers affected by the shutdown and allocates funding to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, which helps about one in eight Americans access food.
The shutdown, which began in October, forced the suspension of many government services, leaving an estimated 1.4 million federal employees either furloughed or working without pay. It also disrupted food assistance programmes and caused widespread delays in domestic air travel.
With federal operations now resumed, attention in Washington has turned to whether Congress and the White House can reach a longer-term funding agreement before the new deadline at the end of January.
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), on Thursday, announced discontinuation of the planned 15 per cent duty on imported petroleum products.
NMDPRA’s Director, Public Affairs Department, George Ene-Ita, conveyed the development in a statement while warning the public to shun panic buying.
President Bola Tinubu, on October 29, approved an import tariff on petrol and diesel, a policy expected to raise the landing cost of imported fuel.
The President’s approval was conveyed in a letter signed by his Private Secretary, Damilotun Aderemi, following a proposal submitted by the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji.
The proposal sought the application of a 15 per cent duty on the cost, insurance, and freight value of imported petrol and diesel to align import costs with domestic market realities.
Implementation was slated to take effect on November 21, 2025.
The policy aimed to protect and promote local refineries like the Dangote Refinery and modular plants by making imported fuel more expensive.
While intended to boost local production, it is also expected to increase fuel costs, which could lead to higher inflation and transportation prices for consumers.
Experts have argued that the move could translate into higher pump prices for consumers, with some estimating an increase of up to N150 per litre or more.
In an update, however, NMDPRA said the government was no longer considering going ahead with implementing the petrol import duty.
“It should also be noted that the implementation of the 15% ad-valorem import duty on imported Premium Motor Spirit and Diesel is no longer in View,” the statement read in part.
Meanwhile, the NMDPRA also assured all that there is an adequate supply of petroleum products in the country, within the acceptable national sufficiency threshold, during this peak demand period.
“There is a robust domestic supply of petroleum products (AGO, PMS, LPG, etc) sourced from both local refineries and importation to ensure timely replenishment of stocks at storage depots and retail stations during this period.
“The Authority wishes to use this opportunity to advise against any hoarding, panic buying or non-market reflective escalation of prices of petroleum products.
“The Authority will continue to closely monitor the supply situation and take appropriate regulatory measures to prevent disruption of supply and distribution of petroleum products across the country, especially during this peak demand period.
“While appreciating the continued efforts of all stakeholders in the midstream and downstream value chain in ensuring a smooth and uninterrupted supply and distribution, the public is hereby assured of NMDPRA’s commitment to guarantee energy security,” the statement added.
The Senate has approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to raise N1.15 trillion from the domestic debt market to cover the unfunded portion of the 2025 budget deficit.
The approval followed the adoption of a report by the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debt during plenary on Wednesday.
The committee noted that the 2025 Appropriation Act provides for a total expenditure of N59.99 trillion, representing an increase of N5.25 trillion over the N54.74 trillion initially proposed by the Executive.
This expansion created a total budget deficit of N14.10 trillion. Of this, N12.95 trillion had already been approved for borrowing, leaving an unfunded deficit of approximately N1.15 trillion (N1,147,462,863,321).
In a related development, a motion by Senator Abdul Ningi was adopted, directing the Senate Committee on Appropriations to intensify its oversight to ensure that the borrowed funds are properly implemented in the 2025 fiscal year and used strictly for their intended purposes.
President Tinubu had on November 4th requested the approval of the National Assembly for a fresh ₦1.15 trillion borrowing from the domestic debt market to help finance the deficit in the 2025 budget.
The President’s request was conveyed in a letter. According to the letter, the proposed borrowing is intended to bridge the funding gap and ensure full implementation of government programs and projects under the 2025 fiscal plan.
