The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, has said the adoption of the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System, IPPIS, as the payment platform for university workers is unsuitable for the university system.

Oloyede, while delivering a lecture at the 71st birthday ceremony of a former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Professor Peter Okebukola which held via Zoom, said the necessary pressure must be put on the Federal Government to discard the payment platform.

“I am not a fan of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, but they have a point here. IPPIS is unsuitable for the university system. Let me cite an instance, when I was the VC at the University of Ilorin, I went to Australia on an official assignment and there I met a Nigerian with PhD in an area of Botany where we lacked the manpower.

“I spoke with the man and convinced him of the need to work with us and he agreed. Immediately, I put a call to the Dean of the Faculty of Science and told him about the development and that was how we secured the services of the man. He is now a professor in one of the nation’s universities.

“Also, we must be careful of the number of universities we are having, especially the ones being set up by government agencies and the military. We already have the Nigerian Defence Academy which trains officers for all the arms of the military. We also have the Police Academy that trains police officers, it can also help in training para-military men too.

“In that regards, we don’t need more than one or two. If care is not taken, we will soon have university of road safety or university of civil defence. Adequately funding existing universities should be our focus,’ he said.

ASUU that is currently on a four week strike is also complaining about IPPIS and the indiscriminate establishment of universities by federal and state governments among other issues.

Oloyede who also spoke on the issue of cut off marks for candidates seeking admission into higher institutions, said he had been asked in a number of international fora whether anybody whose score falls into that category would be automatically admitted.

He  further explained that in some situations, candidates might score high marks in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Education, UTME, and fail to do well in post-UTME exams and screening and vice versa.

He therefore suggested that cut off marks could be replaced with minimum acceptable score.

On some of the changes needed in the education sector, oloyede called for the establishment of the Federal Ministry of Higher Education Research and Innovation to take care of research institutes now under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology.

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) said it will block federal roads nationwide to protest the industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

The National President of NANS, Sunday Asefon, disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen on Monday.

Asefon said that the decision to block major federal roads was agreed upon at the association congress held in Sokoto recently.

He said congress resolved to mobilise students to block major federal roads across the 36 states and FCT on Feb. 28, if ASUU and the government failed to reach a compromise.

“Following the resolution of our congress held on Feb. 19, 2022, in Sokoto State University among, other matters discussed and considered, it was resolved we act decisively.

“I am pleased to direct an immediate commencement of planning and mass mobilization of Nigerian students and comrades across the 36 states of the federation and FCT in line with congress decision.

“The line of actions is as follows: blockage of all major federal roads in all the 36 states of the federation.

“This will be led and coordinated by NANS Joint Campus Committee (JCC) and Zonal Executives including National officials of NANS in the states,’’ he said.

Asefon said that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) would be blocked by the National Secretariat in collaboration with the FCT axis of NANS.

He, therefore, declared Feb. 28, as a National Action Day against ASUU Incessant Strike Action tagged: #ENDASUUSTRIKEPERMANENTLYNOW.

“This becomes sacrosanct once ASUU and Federal Government fail to reach a compromise and get our campuses reopened on or before Feb. 28

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, on Saturday gave educational grants to a total of 351 students of public tertiary institutions across the country.

At a constituency outreach programme organized for his Surulere 1 Federal Constituency of Lagos State which took place at Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, the Speaker also gave out laptops to 1,020 secondary school principals and teachers.

Also, 145 automobiles, ranging from fully equipped medical ambulances, security vehicles and gadgets, new school buses initiative and e-hailing cars were distributed to some beneficiaries.

The event had in attendance the Lagos State APC Chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi, the former Lagos State Deputy Governor, Femi Pedro, former Minister, Musiliu Obanikoro, and members of the Governance Advisory Council (GAC), witnessed the presentation of financial support to 1,596 existing/prospective small scale entrepreneurs and business owners in the Surulere 1 constituency.

Speaking at the occasion, Gbajabiamila said the event was organised to appreciate and witness the benefits of the interaction between a legislator and his constituents.

He said: “Our responsibility as legislators is to feel the pulse of our constituents and work to address their needs. I have always had a passion for education and have tried to focus on touching the lives of students and teachers in our constituency.

“This follows the numerous infrastructural projects we have attracted to this constituency and neighbouring constituencies. From roads to new hospitals, from ICT infrastructure in all public tertiary institutions to facilitating numerous employment for our youth, as well as numerous political appointments for improved representation of our people in government.

“We have also succeeded in lighting up all the streets in Surulere thereby improving the night-life economy, security and safety of our constituents. In the area of sports development, we have facilitated the construction of numerous mini-stadia. We are working to do more and attract more projects to our constituency and beyond.”

Gbajabiamila also paid tribute to one of his constituents, Saheed Okunu, who was a beneficiary of an e-hailing car at the last outreach in 2020, and who “has used that car to improve his life, purchased another car from his thriving e-hailing business and I am glad to use him as a shining example to some of you who might have conceived the idea of selling your cars.”

He announced that Okunu would be encouraged with another e-hailing car to boost his growing business.

“E-hailing cars have become a popular enterprise around the world and even in Nigeria, it is proving to be very popular and a means of growing income”, he said.

He also expressed satisfaction that all the secondary school teachers in the Surulere 1 constituency had the benefit of the e-learning gadget distributed at the event.

“My prayer is that these interventions will, in one way or the other, not only positively improve the lives of our people but also our future.

“I remain committed to the attraction of more laws and interventions that will improve the lives of citizens, as well as more infrastructural projects, employment and empowerment of our people,” he said.

Dignitaries at the event, who gave goodwill messages, were full of praises for the speaker who they appreciated for touching the lives of his constituents positively.