Month: October 2023

By Benson Ezugwu

Gov. Peter Mbah of Enugu State has set up a committee on payment of N30,000 minimum wage to primary school teachers in the state.

Chairman of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Enugu State wing, Chief Theophilus Odo, made the disclosure on Thursday in Enugu during the 2023 World Teachers’ Day celebration.

Odo, who said that he was a member of the committee, thanked the governor for the gesture.

Speaking on the theme for this year’s Day: “The teachers we need for the education we want: The global imperative to reverse the teacher shortage,” he stressed the need for the re-ordering of a new value system.

“There is the need for re-ordering the societal value system, such as stewardship, steadfastness, commitment to service, sincerity, etc. which an ideal teacher epitomises

“It is this kind of moral vision against the false value of acquisitive, oppressive and exploitative society that will awaken Nigeria teachers to their duties and responsibilities to the nation, as it was in the past,” he said.

Odo drew the attention of the governor to the need for recruitment of new teachers in the state and the release of outstanding promotion of teachers.

He also demanded for the payment of outstanding leave allowances to teachers in both primary and post-primary schools in the state.

“We also demand for donation of an 18-seater bus to the union for ease of movement, as the ones donated by successive governments can no longer travel beyond Enugu metropolis because they are old,” he said.

The NUT chairman urged parents, students and the society at large to accord teachers their due respect, adding that “honour should be given to whom honour is due.”

He condemned, in totality, situations where teachers were beaten up in the presence of their students and guardians, saying it was most unfortunate.

“Teachers themselves should see commitment to service and hard work as their watchword and be guided at all times by the ethics of the profession,” he said.

Speaking at the occasion, the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ndubueze Mbah, who represented the governor at the occasion, described teachers as role models and mentors.

He said that government would continue to support the teaching profession in the state.

In her keynote address, a don, Prof. Obiamaka Egbo, said the theme of this year’s celebration resonated deeply with the Nigerian context, where shortage of teachers remained a significant challenge in the pursuit of quality education for all.

She said that education was regarded as a fundamental right and powerful tool for personal and national development in Nigeria.

“However, the quality of education we provide for our children and youth is at a crossroads, largely due to the critical shortage of well-trained and motivated teachers.

“To reverse this shortage, we must first understand the global imperative behind this issue and then apply it to our unique Nigerian situation,” she said.

NAN

By Kingsley Okoye

The Senate has urged the Federal Government to redeem the N10 billion promise made to the people of Benue to rebuild the destroyed communities.

Senate resolution was sequel to adoption of a motion at plenary on Thursday on need to restle displaced people of Gwer -West , Markurdi and Guma local government to their ancestral home and avert imminent humanitarian crisis in the state.

The motion was sponsored by Sen.Zam Tartenger(APC- Benue).

Tartenger in his lead debate recalled that  farmers of Gwer-west, Malardi and Guma Local Government area of Benue state have been sacked and displaced by bandits masquerading as herders in the last seven years .

This, he said had resulted in the people taken abode at camps under deplorable and excruciating conditions at Naka, Agagbe, Ahagena North Bank, Daud, Umanger, and Ghajingba in Gwer-west, Makurdi and Guma Local Government Areas respectively.

He said that the continued stay of the people at the camps potentially exposes them to humanitarian crisis, outbreak of diseases and other health challenges .

According to him, statistics from the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (BENSEMA) indicated that as at September 2022, the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in Benue State stood at 1, 597,000 persons.

He expressed worry that catering for the huge population was beyond the financial strength of state government.

He further expressed worry that, between January and October, 2022, 560 children living in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP’s) camps scattered in Gwer-West, Makurdi, Guma and other parts of Benue as reported by BENSEMA were malnourished.

He said that the immediate past Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbanjo who had paid a sympathy visit to Benue in 2015 promised the people the sum of N10 billion for resettlement of the displaced people.

According to him, the promise has unfortunately be kept in breach.

Senate further in its resolution urged Chief of Defence Staff to immediately facilitate and supervise the quick return of all displaced persons to their ancestral homes and provide a sustainable security corridor to all flash points within the affected communities.

It also directed the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management to provide medical,Food and other relief materials to the displaced persons.

NAN reports that in 2018, the federal government approved a rehabilitation fund of N10bn for victims of killer herdsmen attacks in Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba states, as part of efforts to resettle thousands IDPs.

Former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo made this known during a visit to IDP camps in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.

He told over 34,000 IDPs who are taking refuge at the Abagana camp that the government is doing everything possible to ensure they are immediately resettled in their ancestral homes.

Osinbajo who also promised to supervise the rehabilitation process, announced a three-point solution of providing adequate security for the communities, rebuilding destroyed homes and restoring farmlands currently being occupied by invading herdsmen to enable food production.

NAN

By Abbas Bamalli

Gov. Dikko Radda of Katsina State says the government will audit all local council workers as part of measures to ensure efficiency and eliminate fraud in local government financial system.

The governor announced the manpower audit during a meeting with the Chairmen, Heads of Personnel and Treasurers of the 34 local government areas in the state.

“We have received several complaints on the payrolls of our local governments which are very disturbing, hence, we want to sanitise the local government system in our dear state.

“A situation where some fraudulent persons collect more than their salary is worrisome, but we are determined to stop such evil practices,” the governor was quoted in a statement on Thursday by his Chief Press Secretary, Ibrahim Kaula, as saying during the meeting.

Radda said all local council workers must be physically present during the manpower audit, so as to identify genuine staff across the 34 LGAs.

NAN

Federal Government has unveiled plans to commence the payment of N25,000 grants to members of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) captured in the expanded National Social Register of the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) scheme.

Minister For Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, disclosed this Wednesday when she met with the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC led by its President, Comrade Joe Ajaero at Labour House, Abuja.

The Minister explained that the decision to include vulnerable pensioners in the CCT scheme was President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to labour leaders which he will deliver on.

Dr. Edu told the NLC that: “the President mentioned very clearly that vulnerable pensioners should be immediately captured on the National social Register and benefit from the Conditional Cash Transfer, as part of the national social safety net expansion and this was made clear in his speech on Independence Day where he committed N25,000 for 15 million households for three months.”

She appealed to the NLC to help fast-track the process of collating Data of would-be vulnerable pensioner beneficiaries so that they can start receiving CCT.

“I want us to fast-track this. If we can get this data and information within two weeks, we are sure that you will be beneficiaries immediately and you can start earning from next month which is November, that’s the main reason why I’m here,” Dr. Edu said.

She commended the NLC President Ajaero for being a team player, saying the task of moving Nigeria forward was a collective one and urged him to continue to have faith in the federal government under President Tinubu.

In his remarks, Comrade Joe Ajaero expressed delight at the various poverty alleviation schemes rolled out by the Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Ministry and the passion and commitment the minister has for the job!

He was however of the view that getting to the root cause of poverty would go a long way in addressing the problem.

“Let’s look at not only how to solve this problem, but the cause of it, if we continue to treat the effects of poverty the problem will persist. Let us look other social welfare interventions and job creation that will go a long way to support families.”

The NLC boss urged the federal government to create more jobs by creating a productive economy where factories are functioning and employing workers.

He thanked the Minister for being the first member of the federal executive council to visit the labour house in President Tinubu’s Administration, saying “For finding time to visit the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress, we will work with you to achieve success in this process and your impact will be felt.

President of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Godwin Abumisi, thanked President Tinubu and the Minister for finding the retirees worthy of the federal government benefits.

He said Pensioners who received as low as between five and N10,000 a month, the N25,000 is big money for them.

He thanked the Minister for the exceptional performance so far urging her to keep up the speed

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, says reforms are underway to simplify the passport application process with the possibility of Nigerians being able to begin submitting online applications as early as December

Speaking on Channels Televion’s Politics Today on Wednesday, Tunji-Ojo stated that one of the reforms the ministry is implementing in passport management is to put an end to the “chaotic” passport application process.

“For me personally, I have said this to service providers; I said it today, I said it yesterday, and I have always told them, ‘You need to make life easy for people. We cannot, as a government, as a service, make things more difficult than they ought to be,’” he said.

“Part of the reforms that we are putting in place now, starting from December, is that even when you want to enrol for your passport, you fill your forms online, you do your payments online, and everything.”

The minister was responding to a question on international best practices for passport application and collection, compared to what obtains in Nigeria, and avenues to reduce Nigerians’ frustration in the application process.

In comparison to the passport application process abroad, the minister stated that only a biometric capture needs to be done in person, explaining that all necessary details can be submitted via a Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) portal.

“You do not need to go to the passport office to have your picture captured. People apply for American visas, people apply for UK visas, people apply all over the world. Your passport with the required specifications as directed by the NIS will be uploaded on the platform.

“You upload your passport online, you upload your supporting documents online, so when you go to the immigration office, you spend just like five minutes just to have your biometric captured; that’s all,” he said.

Tunji-Ojo stressed that the days of drawn-out enrollment procedures are long gone and unacceptable, adding that it is Nigerians’ right to experience a smooth procedure.

“The era of people sacrificing a whole day just because they want to go to a passport office for enrollment is over; it is unacceptable. You cannot inconvenience people based on their rights; it is the right of the people to have a seamless experience,” he said.

Backlog Cleared

Earlier on Wednesday, the Minister announced that 204,322 international passports are now ready for collection out of the backlog of over 300,000 he met upon assumption of office.

Ojo made the disclosure during a press conference in Abuja, disclosing that only 99,901 had been collected out of the amount ready for collection.

Tunji-Ojo urged Nigerians to pick up their uncollected passports, revealing that the ministry was working with the immigration service and their vendors to ensure that from next year, international passports are delivered directly to the preferred address of Nigerians

After 10 days in captivity, the Benue State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr Mathew Abo has regained his freedom.

Recall that Mr. Abo was abducted from his residence in Zaki-Biam on Sunday, September 24, 2023 by armed men while with his family members and associates.

It was gathered that Mr. Abo’s abductors released him in the early hours of Thursday and he has already reunited with his family.

Though it was not immediately stated if the N60million demanded by his abductors was paid before his release.

Meanwhile the Commissioner who confirmed his release Thursday in a statement he personally signed, thanked Governor Hyacinth Alia, security agencies and his colleagues for ensuring that he regained his freedom.

While reiterating that his ordeal would not deter him from serving the state, Mr. Abo said, “I appreciate all the efforts and prayers that have culminated in my safe release and reunion with my family and society.

“I wish that my ordeal will lead to renewed efforts to tackle both internal and external security challenges in the state and I call for the cooperation of everyone in the task ahead.

“May I assure that I remain determined more than ever to effectively utilize the platform which Governor Alia has offered to me to serve the people of the state as a member of the Benue State Executive Council with renewed vigor.

“I particularly express appreciation to the entire staff of my Ministry and its parastatals as well as others within and outside the state for the unrelenting prayers and I enjoin them to continue to pray for my success and that of the entire Alia Administration.”