Exploring Aorounga Crater, Chad

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September 24, 2022

Health authorities here have announced the complete lifting of the outdoor mask mandate starting next Monday.

Back in May the outdoor mask requirement was lifted in principle with exceptions for large outdoor gatherings of more than 50 people including concerts rallies and sports events.

Combined Naval Exercise: U.S. Nuclear Powered Aircraft Carrier Arrives South Korea

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September 24, 2022

Amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, and its strike group have arrived in South Korea’s port city of Busan.

They will be taking part in a combined exercise with South Korean forces later this month.

There are three ships in total, including the guided-missile cruiser the USS Chancellorsville, and the guided-missile destroyer the USS Barry.

“The deck of this enormous supercarrier, the USS Ronald Reagan can carry around 80 aircraft including F-18 Super Hornets and F-35 fighters. The aircraft carrier is here in Busan to take part in a combined naval exercise with South Korean forces.”

This is the first time in almost five years that a U.S. aircraft carrier is in the country for a combined exercise, since late 2017 when North Korea carried out its sixth and most powerful nuclear test.

The South Korean Navy said it plans on demonstrating the strength of the bilateral alliance, through the strike group’s visit.

“It’s been a while since the strike group visited Busan, so through this visit, we plan to enhance the combined defense readiness and reaffirm the alliance between the South Korean and U.S. navies.”

The visit of the aircraft carrier that can carry almost 5, 000 sailors comes at a time when Seoul and Washington both declared that North Korea appears to have completed all necessary preparations to carry out a nuclear test, and as the North recently passed a law that allows a pre-emptive nuclear strike to protect itself.

“The port visit of USS Ronald Reagan to Busan and to the Republic of Korea is a clear and visible presence and commitment of the United States’ clear understanding and commitment to the alliance.”

It also comes after South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed during their summit in May, to deploy U.S. strategic assets on the Korean Peninsula in a “timely and coordinated manner”.

The allies’ naval forces will conduct combined drills in waters off the East Coast of South Korea later this month.

Nigerian Govt. Approves Dredging Of Imo State’s Orashi River To Atlantic Ocean

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September 24, 2022

The Federal Government has approved the dredging Orashi River to the Atlantic Sea which will serve as the first sea port in the South East region.

This new development is coming days after President Muhammadu Buhari visited the State to commission laudable projects embarked upon by the Shared Prosperity Government of Gov. Hope Uzodimma and in what can be best described as the real Uzodimma magic is the approval of a Seaport in Imo State amongst many other Federal Government projects dragged to the State.

When completed, the seaport will complement the economic activities of the other six major seaports in the country which will enable traders from the zone import and receive their goods directly while enjoying a comparative advantage as well as promote and encourage the business spirit of the people of South East.

This will in no measure turn Imo State to the business hub of South East and by extension the country as it will increase the State’s internal revenue, siting of industries and create employment opportunities.

SSANU Laments One Month After Resumption, Yet To Salary

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September 24, 2022

Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities has said its members have not been paid a dime since it called off its strike on August 20, 2022.

LN247 had reported that the JAC of NASU and SSANU embarked on a National Industrial Action on 27th March 2022 and called it off on August 20, 2022.

Speaking in an interview, the national vice-president, SSANU, Abdussobor Salaam, emphasised that it had been a month since it called off its strike, saying the government had yet to fulfill the agreement it made with the union.

He added that SSANU resumed with a two-month window for the government to actualise the terms of the agreement reached.

Salaam said, ‘‘As we speak, this week shall conclude one month after we signed the agreement and nothing has changed. None of those issues we agreed upon has been addressed.

‘‘We had an understanding with respect to the conclusion of our renegotiation with the Nimi Briggs Committee. I do not think the Briggs Committee has been briefed.

‘‘More painful is the fact that one month into resumption, our members are yet to receive a dime as salary, meaning they have been going to work without being paid. You can imagine the untold hardship and difficulties involved. We resumed in August and September is coming to an end, yet nothing has been paid The gesture of good faith extended to the Government in line with our understanding should have covered the payment for the month of August but to date, this has not been done.’’

Salaam stressed that the agreement to suspend the strike were with respect to reinstatement of its members in the Staff Schools, usurpation of headships of Non-teaching units, the issue of IPPIS, the release of the reports of the Integrity Tests conducted by NITDA and providing a permanent solution to salary problems in the system has not been addressed.

‘‘The agreement we had was that these issues would be addressed within a time frame of two months. As a mature and responsible union of professionals, we have played our part but we are yet to see a commensurate level of reciprocity from the government.

‘‘As leaders of the Unions, we have no regrets about the decision to suspend the strike and give two months for Government to act. We have shown a sense of responsibility, maturity, and professionalism required of us as unions and we shall allow the two months window to lapse after which we cannot be held responsible for any strike action thereafter. There is still a month left and we hope Government will do the needful within the one-month remaining,’’ he added.

ASUU Appeals Court Order Directing Union To End Strike

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September 23, 2022

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has filed an appeal against the order of the National Industrial court that directed striking lecturers to return to class.

Recall that the Industrial court had on Wednesday ordered the union to call off its seven months old strike pending the determination of the substantive suit.

The Federal Government had, in an interlocutory motion filed by its counsel, James Igwe, asked that the university lecturers be compelled by the court to go back to work pending the resolution of their demands for better working conditions.

Ruling on the interlocutory injunction, the trial Judge, Justice Polycarp Hamman, restrained ASUU from continuing with the industrial action pending the determination of the suit filed against ASUU by the Federal Government.

The court invoked Section 18 of the Trade Dispute Act (TDA) and national interest of the Nigerian students to grant the request of the Federal Government for an order compelling ASUU to call off its seven months strike.

The Federal Government, in its submissions, contended that under Section 18(1)E of the TDA, employees could not continue a strike action when a matter is already referred to the industrial court for ad- judication and that there was need for the matter to be expeditiously determined to enable university students to return to school.

According to Igwe, the failure to call off the strike would cause irreparable damage to both the university students and the nation.

The lecturers downed tools on February 14 over the controversy on the adoption of the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) of the government as the payment system in the university sector, among other issues.

They had also condemned the poor funding of universities, non-payment of salaries and allowances of some of their colleagues, as well as the inability of the government to pay earned academic allowance to lecturers

But efforts to get the academics back to class have failed until now as several negotiations between the union and the government have failed.

Holy Island Fishing Ban Would Turn Island Into A Museum

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September 23, 2022

A fishing ban at Holy Island has been opposed by councillors, with claims by one it would turn it “into a museum”.

The government is exploring creating a Highly Protected Marine Area (HPMA) which would see commercial and recreational fishing halted.

Conservative-led Northumberland County Council heard this week such a move would “devastate” the local economy.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said it wanted to support the fishing industry.

Councillor Colin Hardy, who represents Norham and Islandshires, told the meeting a ban would lead to the loss of six fishing boats – “the equivalent of six farms on the mainland”.

He said: “It will devastate the island’s economy. It will make it unaffordable. If we lose the fisherman, we lose the school, we lose the heart of the island.

“We become a museum, like Beamish. The last person across the causeway, switch the lights off.

“The fisherman of Holy Island don’t trawl. They don’t dredge the seas. They feed a local industry, they feed a local community and they feed our county.”

Interim chief executive Rick O’Farrell claimed Defra’s own documents acknowledged a loss to the economy of between £600,000 and £9m, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Incredible Biodiversity

A majority of councillors supported a motion to oppose the HPMA plan, although the council’s two Green representatives did not, with councillor Martin Swinbank, of Alnwick, saying the authority should not dismiss the proposal without more evidence.

A Defra spokesman said Lindisfarne was being considered as a potential HPMA “because of its incredible biodiversity”.

He added: “It is home to over 850 species, 40 of which are identified as threatened and important, as well as valuable blue carbon habitats.

“As part of our consultation, we have listened to the views of the local community, fishermen, environmental groups and others with a view on these really important issues. These will be taken on board before any decisions are made.”

Federal Govt Will Still Negotiate with ASUU In Spite of Court Victory – Minister

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September 23, 2022

The Federal Government says it will continue to negotiate with ASUU in spite of Wednesday’s court ruling restraining the union from continuing with its seventh-month strike.

The National Industrial Court of Nigeria on Wednesday in Abuja ordered the striking lecturers to return to the classroom following a suit filed by the Federal Government.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, made the Federal Government’s position known when he hosted visiting members of the Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics.

“The court ruling does not preclude us from going on with further negotiation and consultations,’’ he said.

ASUU began its strike to demand that the Federal Government revisits some agreements signed between them in 2009 and also to improve on varsity funding and payment of earned allowances.

The lecturers also want the Federal Government to shelve its Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) in paying lecturers’ salaries.

The Federal Government uses the IPPIS platform to pay its employees.

They demanded that rather than its IPPIS, the government should adopt the University Transparency and Accountability Solution, the payment platform designed by the universities themselves to pay lecturers.

The minister told his visitors that the Industrial Court’s ruling was in the best interest of Nigeria and its people.

According to him, the ruling is a win-win for the government, students, lecturers and for all Nigerians.

“It is a no victor, no vanquished.

“You doctors in academics are for now members of ASUU, but you are here; even though you have dissociated yourselves and you are working.

“We want to thank you for working and teaching your students,’’ the minister said.

He noted that pro-chancellors of universities had met with President Muhammadu Buhari and made some demands that included topping up the government’s offer and seeing whether there could be some bailout.

Ngige added that the president had assured that he would consult with stakeholders on the request.

The minister also commended the House of Representatives for intervening in the ASUU imbroglio.

Ngige said that he was happy that the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila also assured that principal officers of the House would meet with President Buhari over the strike.

He explained that whatever money would be approved to meet some of the demands would go into the 2023 budget.

“Since the House has shown interest now, it is good and wonderful. When they bring that proposal, the Executive will not have any problem.

“ASUU should also know that this is a step in the right direction. All these things have been promised to them by the Minister of Education at their last meeting.

“For me, they should do the needful and go back to the classroom,’’ the minister said.

Ngige said the government would soon direct vice-chancellors to reopen the universities in compliance with the order of the court.

Katsina: Girls Excelled Over Boys In 2021 WASSCE, Commissioner Reveals

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September 23, 2022

The Katsina State Commissioner for Education, Prof. Badamasi Lawal, has said that female students performed better than their male counterpart in the 2021 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates.

Lawal made this known at the official closing ceremony of the Girl Education Project (GEP-III) on Thursday in Katsina.

He noted that this was recorded as a result of the commitment of the government to empower girls in the state, through various educational programmes.

According to him, in 2021, 18,321 students sat for the WASSCE and the state government paid the examination fee for all the candidates.

“Out of which 10,441 were male, while the female students were 7,880. But wonderfully, the results indicated that 4,627 of the female students scored credit in English language, which is 58.7 per cent.

“From the 10,441 male students, only 5,632 scored credit in English language, which is 54 per cent, this means the girls scored higher than the boys in English language.

“In Mathematics, the girls also performed higher than the boys, because 5,678 of them scored credits, while only 4,726 of the boys, scored credits.

“Because the number of the girls that sat for the examination was lower than that of the boys, the boys scored 58 per cent while the girls scored 53 per cent, which is also higher.

“Five credits, including Mathematics and English Language, out of the total number mentioned above, 4,247 among the girls scored credit, that is 56 per cent, as against the males who scored only 48 per cent,” he said.

According to him, the aim of the project in the state is to increase access to education among girl- children, improve teacher capacity and competency, as well as strengthening of the system.

He noted that all the activities mentioned had been achieved in the state, through the support of the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF).

“No doubt the intervention has improved the girl child education in Katsina State.

I want to showcase the evidence of this improvement, by making a presentation of the 2021 WASSCE results.

“It will show you that the presence of UNICEF in the state has done very well in improving girl child education,” the commissioner said.

According to him, in 2021, 18,321 students sat for the WASSCE examination, and the state government paid the examination fee for all the candidates.

“Out of which 10,441 were male, while the female students were 7,880. But wonderfully, the results indicated that 4,627 of the female students scored credit in English language, which is 58.7 per cent.

“From the 10,441 male students, only 5,632 scored credit in English language, which is 54 per cent, this means the girls scored higher than the boys in English language.

“In mathematics, the girls also performed higher than the boys, because 5,678 of them scored credit, while only 4,726 boys scored credit.

“Because the number of the girls that sat for the examination was lower than that of the boys, the boys scored 58 per cent while the girls scored 53 per cent, which is also higher.

“Five credits including mathematics and English, out of the total number mentioned above, 4,247 among the girls scored credit that is 56 per cent, as against the males who scored only 48 per cent.” He said.

The Commissioner attributed the success to the intervention of UNICEF through its various programmes under the GEP-3 project in the state.

Enugu Govt Trains 7800 Secondary School Teachers

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September 23, 2022