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FG Prevails on NLC to Register CONUA, NAMDA

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The Federal Government, Tuesday, appealed to the Nigeria Labour Congress to rescind its opposition to the registration of two new academic unions in the Nigerian public university system.

The PUNCH reports that the new unions- the Congress for Nigerian University Academics and the Nigeria Association of Medical and Dental Academics -received letters of recognition recently during a ceremony at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment in Abuja.

However, in a letter to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, the President of NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, demanded for the withdrawal of the letters issued to the unions, on the grounds that their registration contravened the laws guiding trade unionism.

In his reply, dated October 12, 2022, Ngige appealed to NLC to allow the new unions to exist in the spirit of Freedom of Association.

He insisted that the Trade Dispute Act 2004 gives him the sole power to register new trade unions, either by registering a new union or regrouping existing ones.

The minister reiterated that the new unions were offshoots or by-products of regrouping and their applications were considered by two committees of his ministry, with the Registrar of Trade Unions participating when the first recommendation for approval was given in 2019, and again in 2022.

He explained that CONUA and NAMDA were regrouped from the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), for efficiency and effectiveness in the system and more importantly, to protect these groups of university teachers whose worldview differs from the restive parent union.

Ngige said, “Comrade President, do not unnecessarily oppose the registration of these new academic unions because with ASUU, they are all like seeds on the academic soil of Nigeria and which will grow into big trees we don’t know, but the one which her trees are not bearing good fruits, we already know. So, as an uncle of the unions, oppose none in the spirit of Freedom of Association.

“It should be noted that Section 3 (2) of the Trade Dispute Act, CAP T14 gives the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment, the sole power to register new trade unions, either by registering new trade union or regrouping existing ones. This matter was a subject of litigation in the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) in most recent case which the President of the NLC failed to mention in his narration of court cases – the case of the Nigerian Union of Pensions (NUP) and the regrouped Federal Parastatals & Private Sector Pensioners Association of Nigeria (FEPPAN) from NUP where the Law on Regrouping of Trade Unions was extensively explored and ruled upon unlike the cases cited by the President of the NLC to misinform the general public and unfortunately lead astray his affiliate Trade Union – ASUU. “

He recalled that the NICN in a suit no. NICN/ABJ/219/2019, buttressed its earlier ruling on the matter and which had stated inter alia that the power to register trade unions resides with the Minister of Labour and Employment.

He noted that the last segment of Section 3(2) does not refer to the regrouping of existing trade unions, hence, the differentiation within the section between registering a new trade union and regrouping existing ones.

Ngige said, “We note your reference to Section 5 of the same Act, which deals with the “Procedure on receipt of application for registration” of a Trade Union. Section 5(4) in Particular states that the Registrar shall not register a trade union if it appears to him that any existing trade union is sufficiently representative of the interests of the class of workers concerned – CONUA members were ostracised and de-unionised by ASUU. Do we as the Competent Authority on Labour matters including trade union services pay homage to ASUU and acquiesce to leaving a large segment of lecturers and academia un-unionised, without protection, without a voice, and without a right at work. Are these workers not covered by the same ILO Conventions nos. 87 & 97?”

Regarding NAMDA, he said they are medical doctors lecturing in the universities who are bound by their professional ethics and Hippocratic oath to “first do no harm” to all and as such, were against the incessant prolonged and illegal strikes by ASUU, which had disrupted medical training and caused consequential damages to the educational system and by implication, the quantity and quality of future medical doctors and dentists in Nigeria.

“They have been teaching and some have graduated their students since the 8-month-old strike by ASUU which commenced on Feb 14 2022. Universities of Maiduguri, Bauchi and Sokoto medical teachers are indeed patriots. Moreover, their peculiar needs are quite different from the rest of ASUU members and they are often left out on welfare and career progression in the universities-the core functions of a registered trade union.”

Ngige told the NLC President to desist from using his position to deceive the general public by misguiding them with mal-citations of Labour Authorities.

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Lagos Police Command Gets New CP, Moshood Jimoh

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The Police Service Commission (PSC) has approved the removal of CP Lanre Ishola as the Commissioner of Police, Lagos, replacing him with CP Moshood Lawal.

The removal is with immediate effect…

Details soon…

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Lagos Assembly: Plenary Halted As Security Operatives Take Over Premises

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By Eric Elezuo

Amid growing tension following the impeachment of former Speaker Mudashiru Obasa of the Lagos House of Assembly, security operatives including men of the Department of State Services (DSS), the Lagos Task Force and the Nigerian Police Force, have reportedly taken over the Assembly complex, locking the Speaker, Mojisola Meranda and her Deputy.

Eyewitness says that amidst the uncertainty, the Speaker of the House arrived to the cheers of other lawmakers, who expressed confidence in the leadership of Rt. Hon. Meranda.

There has been pleasure on Hon Meranda to resign as Speaker since the brouhaha emerged as a result of the rejection of his impeachment by Obasa, who had since taken the matter to court.

Other sources alleged that Meranda may have to resign to pave way for peaceful resolution of the crises that originated from the January 13 impeachment of Obasa.

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WAEC Releases 2024 WASSCE Results for Private Candidates, Says 2669 Results Under Processing

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By Eric Elezuo

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has announced the released of the results of the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for private candidates, adding that about 2669 results are still being processed for release.

The examinations body made the announcement via a statement signed by the Ag. Head, Public Affairs, Moyosola Adesina, and made available to this medium. It stated that a total of 62,354 candidates, representing 95.90% have had their results fully processed and released, and are requested to visit www.waecdirect.org to ascertain their status before visiting the Digital Certificate platform (www.waec.org).

The statement in details:

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Nigeria, wishes to announce to candidates, stakeholders and the general public that the results of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for Private Candidates, 2024–Second Series, has been released.

Recall that the Council announced that the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for Private Candidates, 2024–Second Series would be conducted in two modes, for the first time, in line with emerging best practices and the continuous quest for excellence. The examination diet was conducted in those two modes, the Paper and Pen option and the computer-based hybrid mode, and candidates sat the examination based on the option they chose during registration.

The examination took place in Nigeria between Friday, October 25, 2024 and Friday, December 20, 2024. The Coordination of Examiners and Marking of Candidates’ Scripts were carried out at FIVE (5) Marking Venues in Lagos, Ibadan, Benin, Enugu and Kaduna from Wednesday, January 15, to Tuesday, February 4, 2025. A total of THREE THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN (3,327) Examiners participated in the Coordination and Marking Exercise.
SIXTY-EIGHT THOUSAND, THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY-TWO (68,342) candidates, representing a 20% decrease, when compared with the 2023 entry figure, entered for the examination, while SIXTY-FIVE THOUSAND AND TWENTY-THREE (65,023) candidates sat the examination at FIVE THOUSAND AND SIXTY-SEVEN (5,067) centres spread across the nooks and crannies of the country.

Amongst the candidates that sat the examination, ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-SEVEN (157) candidates, with varying degrees of Special Needs, were registered for the examination. Out of this number, TWENTY-FIVE (25) were visually challenged, THIRTEEN (13) had impaired hearing and FIFTEEN (15) were Albinos. All these candidates with special needs were adequately provided for in the administration of the examination.

Of the total number of SIXTY-FIVE THOUSAND AND TWENTY-THREE (65,023) candidates that sat the examination, THIRTY-ONE THOUSAND, FIVE HUNDRED AND FOUR (31,504) were males while THIRTY-THREE THOUSAND, FIVE HUNDRED AND NINETEEN (33,519) were females, representing 48.45% AND 51.55% respectively.

Out of the total number of candidates that sat the examination, SIXTY-TWO THOUSAND, THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-FOUR (62,354) candidates, representing 95.90% have their results fully processed and released while TWO THOUSAND, SIX HUNDRED AND SIXTY-NINE (2,669) candidates, representing 4.10% have a few of their subjects still being processed due to some errors traceable to them.

However, efforts are being made to speedily complete the processing to enable all the affected candidates to get their results fully processed and released, subsequently.

The analysis of the statistics of the performance of candidates shows that out of the SIXTY-FIVE THOUSAND AND TWENTY-THREE (65,023) candidates that sat the examination:
 FORTY-THREE THOUSAND, NINE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-THREE (43,923) candidates representing 67.55% obtained credit and above in a minimum of FIVE (5) subjects (with or without English Language and/or Mathematics);
 THIRTY-FOUR THOUSAND, EIGHT HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-EIGHT (34,878) candidates representing 53.64 % obtained credit and above in a minimum of FIVE (5) subjects, including English Language and Mathematics

Of this number, SIXTEEN THOUSAND, EIGHT HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-SIX (16,886) i.e., 48.41% were male candidates, while SEVENTEEN THOUSAND, NINE HUNDRED AND NINETY-TWO (17,992), i.e., 51.58 % were female candidates. The percentage of candidates in this category in the WASSCE for Private Candidates, 2022 and 2023 – Second Series, that is, those who obtained credit and above in a minimum of five (5) subjects, including English Language and Mathematics, were 42.16% and 44.29% respectively. Thus, there is a marginal increase of 9.35 % in performance in this regard.
This analysis, however, cannot be compared with that of WASSCE for School Candidates. Whereas the candidates in WASSCE for School Candidates Examination are compelled to sit eight or nine subjects, the candidates in WASSCE for Private Candidates Examination, though can register for eight or nine subjects, are not compelled to take all. They are free to sit, even one subject, depending on the deficiency they want to remedy.

TWO-THOUSAND, FIVE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-SEVEN (2,577) Candidates’ results, representing 3.96 % of the total number of candidates that sat the examination, were withheld in connection with various allegations of examination malpractice. Candidates whose results were withheld are advised to visit the WAEC Notice of Examination Malpractice Portal at: https//waecinternational.org/complaints to make representations with regard to allegations bordering on examination malpractice.

All reported cases will be investigated including exhibits obtained, alongside candidates’ representations lodged on the portal. These will be evaluated and reports presented to the appropriate Committee of the Council for determination. The Committee’s decision(s) will be communicated directly to the affected candidates.

Candidates may check their results by visiting www.waecdirect.org to ascertain their status before visiting the Digital Certificate platform (www.waec.org) to access the digital copies of their certificates, which have been released along with the results. Candidates will be required to apply for the printing of the hard copies of their certificates online, through the WAEC Certificate Request Portal (e-Certman). The portal address is https://certrequest.waec.ng/. All candidates who sat the examination diet are hereby advised to check their results carefully and take necessary actions as required.

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Nigeria, would like to congratulate all candidates who have worked hard and achieved great results. Our profound gratitude also goes to the Government at all levels, Security Agencies, Ministries of Education, Staff, Supervisors, Invigilators, Custodians, Examiners, and other Ad-hoc personnel who, despite all odds, availed the Council of their services in ensuring the successful conduct of the examination and marking of scripts. The results are a testament to their dedication and hard work. We wish all the candidates the best in their future endeavours.

Once again, we assure all our stakeholders of our dedication and commitment to excellent service delivery.

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