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ASUU Threatens Fresh Strike over Unremitted Deductions
The Academic Staff Union of Universities on Sunday blamed the Federal Government, as well as the Accountant General of the Federation, over what it called the victimisation of its members.
It said the Federal Government had refused to pay its members salaries despite the ‘no victimisation clause’ of the suspended strike.
According to ASUU, while its members are back to their duty posts to work, the harsh economy being experienced due to unpaid salaries and non-refund of deducted check-off dues will affect productivity.
The Chairman of ASUU, University of Ibadan, Prof. Ayo Akinwole, said the Federal Government failed to remit the deductions it made to the account of the union.
The union warned that if pushed to the limit, “withdrawal of work in the nearest future may be inevitable.”
Akinwole said while government was paying outstanding five months salaries for those on nominal role at an agonisingly slow pace, over 100 UI academic staff members were being owed salaries for between two to 10 months.
He said those newly employed in February 2020 had not received money with their families and dependants suffering over their rejection of enrolment on the IPPIS.
The ASUU chief said, “The suspension of the strike was based on an agreement reached and a ‘Memorandum of Action’ signed in good faith between the government and ASUU at the stakeholders’ meeting held on Tuesday, 22nd December, 2020. A major common position agreed to (and expected to be respected) by the government and ASUU was that nobody shall be victimised in any way whatsoever for his/her role in the process leading to the Memorandum of Action.”
He said while ASUU had remain faithful to the agreement by returning to classes and performing their respective duties, the Federal Government reneged on its part.
He alleged that “Officials of the OAGF kept adducing flimsy untenable reasons for the perpetual non-payment of salaries, demanding loads of paperwork and documents both from the union and the bursary unit of the various universities, as well as the university administration.
“The requested documents have consistently been provided on a monthly basis, yet the salaries remain unpaid. In the University of Ibadan, March 10, 2021, about 67 ASUU members that are on regular nominal payroll have their salaries ranging from two to 10 months still unpaid as of March 10, 2020. Over 80 ASUU-UI members in the faculty of veterinary medicine have their medical allowances of over eight months still unpaid.
The Punch
Immediate past Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, has stated that the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu is planning to tarnish his reputation because of his 2031 Presidential ambition.
Speaking in an interview with Arise TV on Monday, el-Rufai alleged that Ribadu is collaborating with Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to destroy his image
“This project of destroying Nasir el-Rufai is Nuhu Ribadu’s conception. He is the architect and builder of that project. He is the one working with Uba Sani to implement it. So far, it has been frustrating for them,” el-Rufai said.
“Somebody wants to destroy my reputation. Why? Nuhu Ribadu wants to be president in 2031. He has to eliminate every northerner that he thinks is on the radar.”
Following the revelation by former Military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida in his book, “A Journey in Service” that the 1966 coup was not an Igbo coup as alleged, Igbo apex group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, on Sunday, February 23, has demanded an apology and N10 trillion as compensation from President Bola Tinubu to the Igbos.
In his book, Babangida revealed that the primary objective of the coup plotters was to release Chief Obafemi Awolowo from prison and install him as Prime Minister. He emphasized that the involvement of officers from different ethnic backgrounds, including non-Igbo officers such as Major Adewale Ademoyega, Captain Ganiyu Adeleke, and Lieutenants Fola Oyewole and Olafimihan, further invalidates the claim that it was an Igbo-driven coup.
Additionally, some senior Igbo officers were also victims of the coup, such as Lt-Col. Arthur Chinyelu Unegbe, who was executed by fellow officer Major Chris Anuforo. This further weakens the argument that the coup was designed to serve Igbo interests.
Furthermore, Babangida pointed out that the coup was ultimately crushed by Major John Obienu, an officer of Igbo extraction, reinforcing the argument that it was not an ethnic uprising but rather a failed military intervention with specific political objectives.
Reacting, Ohanaeze noted that the story surrounding the coup at the time, unleashed disastrous repercussions on the Igbo people, which ultimately led to the cataclysmic horrors of the Biafra War.
In a statement by the Deputy National President of the Ohanaeze faction, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, the group noted that the apology and compensation had become necessary due to the ”staggering loss of life, with approximately three million Igbo—predominantly innocent women and children—slaughtered during the war.”
It stated that the revelations by IBB would compel Nigerians to confront the alleged ‘’stark injustices perpetrated against the Igbo people.”
The statement added that the demand for ten trillion naira in reparations remained steadfast, stressing that the figure was not arbitrary but a symbolic recognition of the ‘’huge losses the Igbo people had endured since the creation of Nigeria.”
The statement read:
“The apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, extends its profound appreciation to General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) for his remarkable courage in officially declaring that the January 1966 coup was unequivocally not an Igbo coup.
“This pivotal acknowledgement is not merely a correction of historical nomenclature but a significant moment in our collective pursuit of justice and reconciliation, signalling a potential end to the historical vindictiveness and cruelty that have been pervasive in Federal Government policies towards the Igbo Nation.
“His forthright exemption of the Igbo from the egregious classification as enemies of the Northern region in the aftermath of the coup is both timely and necessary, even if it arrives decades later.
“The mislabeling of the January 1966 coup has unleashed disastrous repercussions upon the Igbo people, most tragically culminating in the July 1966 counter-coup, which decimated a military Head of State of Igbo descent.
“The staggering loss of life, with approximately three million Igbos—predominantly innocent women and children—slaughtered during this conflict, continues to reverberate through our collective consciousness.
“Furthermore, even in the post-Biafra era, the Igbo Nation continues to grapple with systemic injustices, evidenced by acute marginalisation that leaves us with the smallest representation of states within the Nigerian federation.
“The political conspiracies designed to deny the Igbo the rights to ascend to the highest office in the land—Nigeria’s Presidency—the chronic economic neglect symbolised by the closure of the Calabar seaport, the inoperative state of several ports in Igbo land, the implementation of a discriminatory quota system, and the conspicuous absence of functional international airports in the Southeast starkly illustrate the Federal Government’s long-standing policy of exclusion.
“In light of these egregious injustices and the deliberate neglect exhibited by successive administrations, Ohanaeze Ndigbo hereby restates its demands, as articulated previously during the Justice Oputa-led Judicial Commission for the Investigation of Human Rights Violations Panel in 1999.
“We assert that the Nigerian Federal Government, under General Yakubu Gowon, conducted indiscriminate and unjustified bombardments in Igbo territory during the Nigeria-Biafra War, resulting in overwhelming loss of life. These historical realities establish an irrefutable case for the reparations we seek.
“The present Federal Government, led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, must recognise this moment as an opportunity to extend a public and unequivocal apology on behalf of previous military regimes. Our demand for ten trillion naira in reparations remains steadfast.
“This figure is not arbitrary but a symbolic recognition of the indelible losses the Igbo people have endured. The time has come for true acknowledgement of these historical wrongs, which can only be rectified through both reparations and sincere apologies.”
Source: LIB
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, has discovered N1.37 billion allegedly diverted from funds allocated for Kaduna State’s now-abandoned light rail project.
The money, it was learned, was siphoned into a private account during the administration of former Governor Nasir El-Rufai, who led the state from 2015 to 2023.
The ICPC detailed its findings in an application filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking the forfeiture of the funds. The commission argued that the alleged diversion deprived Kaduna residents of a vital rail transport system.
According to the ICPC, the fraud stemmed from a purported joint venture agreement signed in October 2016 between the El-Rufai-led administration and Indo Kaduna Mrts JV Nigeria Limited. Payments to the entity began in December 2016, even though the company was not officially incorporated until May 10, 2017.
Between December 2016 and January 2017, the El-Rufai administration approved the payment of N11.1 billion to Mrts JV Nigeria’s account with Sterling Bank. Out of this amount, N1.37 billion was traced to a private account.
On February 14, 2024, the ICPC sought an interim forfeiture order and requested that notices be published in national newspapers, inviting any claimants to show cause why the funds should not be permanently forfeited.
The investigation began after the ICPC received a petition in June 2024 from a lawyer, M. Yahaya, alleging financial misappropriation by officials of the El-Rufai administration. The commission’s probe found that the Kaduna State Government had transferred N11.1 billion in multiple tranches to the joint venture’s account before it was officially registered.
Payments included N890.3 million from the state treasury on December 23, 2016, N2.3 billion on January 10, 2017, and two more tranches of N3 billion and N4.9 billion on January 17, 2017.
On the same day that the final payments were made, Skipper Nigeria Limited, linked to the joint venture, directed Sterling Bank to place the funds in a fixed deposit account. By July 2019, Indo Kaduna Mrts JV Nigeria Limited refunded N10 billion to the Kaduna State Government, leaving a balance of N1.046 billion.
The fixed deposit had also accrued N326.8 million in interest, both of which were allegedly diverted to accounts belonging to GTA Engineering Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of Skipper Nigeria Limited.
The ICPC claims that the N1.046 billion was labeled as payment for feasibility study, but no such study was conducted. The commission has since recovered both the diverted sum and the accrued interest, totaling N1.37 billion, and is now seeking a court order for its forfeiture.
Former appointees of El-Rufai have denied any wrongdoing, calling the ICPC’s move an abuse of power. They argue that the project was part of a Build, Own, Operate, and Transfer agreement requiring Kaduna State to contribute 15 percent equity, with the rest funded by an Indian loan.
However, the project stalled due to the federal government’s failure to provide a sovereign guarantee. The former officials insist that the joint venture was legally established and challenge critics to present evidence of misconduct.
