President Muhammadu Buhari-led government has donated $1 million to Afghanistan.
The development was disclosed in a statement released by the Secretary-General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Hissein Brahim Taha.

Taha who commended the Nigerian Government noted that OIC remains committed to supporting Afghanistan.


The OIC appeals to all Member States, stakeholders and partners to make contributions to the humanitarian trust fund for Afghanistan.

He said, “The Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Hissein Brahim Taha has commended with appreciation the generous donation of one million dollars made by the Republic of Nigeria to the Humanitarian Trust Fund for Afghanistan.


This donation comes in time to add new momentum to OIC’s efforts to contribute to easing the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and to help in catering for the needs of millions of Afghan people, including women and children.

“OIC remains committed to the noble cause of supporting the Afghan people and will spare no effort in implementing to the full the special resolution on Afghanistan issued by the last extraordinary session of the Council of Foreign Ministers held in December 2021 in Islamabad, Republic of Pakistan.


The OIC appeals to all Member States, stakeholders and partners to come on board and make contributions to the humanitarian trust fund for Afghanistan through the bank account reserved for this fund within the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB).”

Afghanistan is currently facing hardship under the oppressive regime of The Taliban following the withdrawal of American troops.

Published 4 March 2022
The Minister of Labour, Employment and Productivity, Dr Chris Ngige, has stated that the Federal Government does not have the funds to meet its obligations in the agreement signed with the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

Ngige said the government was considering a renegotiation of the terms of the agreement with ASUU, in the effort to end the ongoing strike by university lecturers.

The minister made this known while appearing on Politics Today, a current affairs programme on Channels Television monitored from Abuja on Thursday.



When asked if he agreed that the government had failed to fulfil its side of the agreement with ASUU, Ngige said no.



On when the conflict would end, the minister said, “I am hoping that ASUU should do the right thing and contact their members on the renegotiations that we have had in the last two weeks. First, the issue of earned academic allowances, we have agreed, giving a timeline to the NUC to go back to the old template used in working out the 2021 earned academic allowance – 10.8 per cent of personnel cost.“We want them to go back very quickly and use that same formula and get us what we are supposed to pay in 2022. That is agreed by everybody.”



On revitalisation of the universities, Ngige said “the amount is not very clear, what has been paid.” He said the actual amount paid is being determined.

On the release of N1.3tn between 2013 and 2018 to revitalise the universities, with N200bn released in 2013 and only N70bn released in the last seven years, the minister, who noted that government is a continuum, stated that the N1.3tn was promised by the Goodluck Jonathan-led administration. According to him, oil was selling at between $100 and $120 per barrel then, while the revenue of the federation was rich.



“The government now says ‘we don’t have the money to pay it.’ This was the agreement between 2016 and 2017,” he said, adding that the government still does not have the funds to fulfil its side of the bargain.

Ngige said the government is now calling for renegotiation of the agreement with ASUU, “unless you want us to go and take money from TETFUND and deceive you as it was done in that period, and place it for you on the table.”

Meanwhile, the Federal Ministry of Education has constituted another committee to renegotiate the 2009 agreement with ASUU.



Announcing the reconstitution of the renegotiation team, the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, in a statement by the Director of Press and Public Relations in the Ministry of Education, Ben Goong, emphasised the need to speedily bring to conclusion the outstanding issues in the 2009 agreement.

The statement read in part, “The Federal Government has reconstituted a team to renegotiate the 2009 agreement it had with the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

“Reconstituting the team, Education Minister, Adamu Adamu, said there was a need to speedily bring to conclusion all outstanding issues in the 2009 agreement in order to achieve the desired peace on our campuses.

“The Chairman of the reconstituted 2009 FGN/University-based Unions Agreements Re-negotiation Team is Prof Nimi Briggs, Pro-Chancellor, Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike Ikwo.



“Members of the team include Lawrence Patrick Ngbale, Pro-Chancellor, Federal University, Wukari (North-East); Prof Funmi Togunu-Bickersteth, Pro-Chancellor, Federal University, Birnin Kebbi (South-West); Senator Chris Adighije, Pro-Chancellor, Federal University, Lokoja (South-East); and Prof Olu Obafemi, Pro-Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, Minna (North-Central).

“Others are Prof Zubairu Iliyasu, Pro-Chancellor, Kano State University of Science & Technology (North-West); and Matthew B. Seiyefa, Pro-Chancellor, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island (South-South).

“The team will be inaugurated by the minister by 12noon, on Monday, March 7, 2022 at the minister’s conference room, headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Education, Abuja.



“All advisers and observers in the Federal Government/University-based Unions 2009 Agreements Re-negotiation Team are expected to attend the inauguration.”

Andrei Sukhovetsky, the deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army of the Central Military District, has been killed in the war with Ukraine.

This was made known in a social media post by his colleague. Sukhovetsky was said to have died on Wednesday, according to Ukrainian news outlets.

They referred to a post on Russian social media platform VKontakte written by Sergei Chipilev, a deputy of the Russian veterans’ group, Combat Brotherhood.
It said: ‘It is with great sorrow that we learned of the tragic news about the death of our friend, Major General Andrei Aleksandrovich Sukhovetsky, on the territory of Ukraine during a special operation.’



Sukhovetsky, according to a report in the Ukrainian outlet Fakti, had been in his latest role since October 2021 and was based in Novosibirsk.



Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defence announced that 498 of its servicemen had been killed, more than 1,500 were injured since the invasion of Ukraine was launched last Thursday.
The spokesman for the Ministry, Igor Konashenkov, on Wednesday, rejected reports about ‘incalculable losses’ among Russian forces as ‘disinformation’.



But Ukraine had argued that the true number of Russian troops killed is higher than what Moscow admits.
Konashenkov denied that conscripts or cadets have been involved in the operation in Ukraine, dismissing media reports suggesting otherwise.
But Russian independent organisations that help parents find their sons have said conscripts were taking part and had been made to sign documents before crossing the border.

Konashenkov also said more than 2,870 Ukrainian troops have been killed and some 3,700 more sustained injuries, while 572 others have been captured by the Russians.
The claim is yet to be independently verified, and Ukraine has not commented on these figures.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said more than 2,000 civilians have died in the conflict, but again it is impossible to verify this claim.
The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said that it has recorded 752 civilian casualties since the start of Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
It said that up till midnight on March 1, the UN had recorded 227 killed, including 15 under the age of 18, and 525 injured.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine started on February 24.
Since then, Ukraine has suffered widespread damages and loss of lives amid Russia’s major bombing campaign.

Published 19 February 2022

The retired teachers in Anambra State have protested the nonpayment of their gratuities by the state government for four years.

They, therefore, asked Governor Willie Obiano to pay the backlog of their gratuities which had accrued since 2017 before leaving office in March.

The angry retirees protested along the Teachers’ House Road, Awka, on Friday, carrying placards with various inscriptions.

Some of the placards read, “Obiano, pay us our pension and gratuity in line with the approved structure,” “Give us our arrears of pension,” “Our gratuities are our rights,” “Pay us now that we are alive,” and “Is it when we die that others will collect what we worked for?”

The spokesperson of the group, Mrs Victoria Maduka, who retired as a Zonal Director in 2018 from Ogidi zone, explained that many of them, including those who retired in 2017, were yet to receive any payment from the government having served for thirty-five years.

Maduka expressed regret that the situation had adversely affected them, as they struggled to eat, pay hospital and electricity bills as well as house rents and children’s school fees.

She said that it was unfortunate that despite the letter they wrote to the government three weeks ago, no response had been given to them as regards what was delaying their gratuities in the last four years.

According to her, though the tenure of the present administration would end in less than one month, they believed their emoluments could still be paid considering the efforts and sacrifices they had put in moving the state forward.

Another retiree, Mr. Raymond Achebe, while narrating the impact of the long denial of their monies on their families, appealed to the government to consider their plights and pay them.

The teachers lamented that they recently buried a deputy director, who died while waiting for the state government to pay her emoluments after 35 years of service.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has reacted to the issue of fuel scarcity across the country and the emergence of black marketers.

Following the scarcity of petrol, black marketers in Abuja and neighbouring states of Niger and Nasarawa have started selling Premium Motor Spirit as high as N400/litre.

Naija News learned that black marketers have seized the opportunity of the long queues in filling stations in the FCT and its environs to display and sell their products on major roads.

While some of them priced their petrol for as high as N6,000 for a 10-litre jerry-can, others sold theirs at N4,000 for 10 litres of PMS, translating to N400/litre.

The high cost of petrol by black marketers forced motorists to stay in long queues, while those who could not wait in the queues had to part with the costly sum for petrol.

Also, many filling stations in the FCT and in Nyanya, Mararaba communities in Nasarawa State were closed on Sunday.

In a chat with The PUNCH on Sunday, NNPC spokesperson, Garba-Deen Muhammad, said the oil firm is doing its best to ensure that there is enough petrol in the country.

Muhammad asked Nigerians to exercise patience with the company, stressing that normalcy will soon return to the country.

He added that a technical committee had been set up to look into the recall of the contaminated products and how they would be managed.

He said, “The first thing is to ensure that it is recalled and not in circulation. There are various ways of handling this kind of product, we will leave that to the technical committee that has been set up.

“This committee is drawn from MOMAN, DAPPMAN, downstream regulator, NNPC, and all stakeholders. They all have technical people and know the best way to handle this kind of product.”

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has resolved to embark on a one-month warning strike to see if the federal government will address its demands before taking the next action.

Naija News reports that the conclusion was reached after serious deliberations between the academic union and the National Executive Council, NEC.

This news platform had reported earlier that ASUU on Saturday commenced a two-day meeting to decide on whether or not to embark on another industrial action.

The meeting which was supposed to end on Sunday, however, was extended into the early hours of Monday, and the academic union has now concluded to go on a warning strike to press home its demands from the government.

A source at the meeting held in Lagos who confirmed the development to newsmen on Monday morning explained that the strike is to allow the Federal Government to do the needful failure to which the union would go on an indefinite strike.

“We just want to give the government a long rope hoping that it would see the need to avoid a total paralysis of academic activities in the nation’s universities. We are parents too and have our children in the system but we cannot watch and allow the total collapse of education in the country,” Vanguard quoted the source as saying.

He added: “Our agitation is in the interest of all and if the system is made better, we will all enjoy it. Prominent personalities in the country have waded into the matter but the government seems recalcitrant. Our National President would explain more when he briefs the press later today.”

Naija News understands that ASUU’s demands from President Muhammadu Buhari-led government include the payment of Earned Academic Allowance, revitalization fund, the replacement of the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System, IPPIS, with the University Transparency and Accountability System UTAS, among others.

Published 13 February 2022

A pro-Bola Tinubu coalition, the Support Groups Management Council, says the viral photograph of the All Progressives Congress leader pictured in a wet dress is the work of mischief-makers.

In a statement on Sunday, the coalition said the viral photo was manipulated, noting that Tinubu is healthy and physically fit to be Nigeria’s President in 2023, contrary to claims by propagandists.

Tinubu had on Saturday visited some top traditional rulers in Ogun State including the Alake and Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, to seek royal blessing on his presidential ambition.

Photo of Tinubu wet around his lower region had surfaced online with many saying the APC leader is suffering from a urinary condition.

But in its statement signed by its Director of Media and Publicity, Biodun Ajiboye, the pro-Tinubu group described the claim as false.

The statement was titled, ‘Evildoers, destroyers of destiny are at it again’.

It partly read, “The success Asiwaju Tinubu recorded at these high-level visitations to top traditional rulers had again led enemies of progress, the brewers of hate, discord and disharmony to script a dirty tale to discredit this awesome outing. This time it is that he wetted his dress!

“Assuming without conceding that is the case, so is it the back of his knees that would be wet and not the bum area? So if he wetted his babariga, he would not cover it and would still move to be flat to greet the Awujale of Ijebuland in the full glare of everyone present? It was the usual photoshop manipulations and shallow mental agility that pushed them to dispense a feeble narrative that made no iota of sense.

“Yet as their video showed, it was after their wetting incident that he went ahead and prostrated to Kabiyesi.

“This is another distraction, no amount of distractions or attempts to discredit Asiwaju will work to remove the wall from his political wind.

“Asiwaju Tinubu has declared his interest in the presidential race. He has his legs on the throttle. There is no going back.

“We appeal to Nigerian to ignore the evil-minded machinations and assure Nigerians that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is healthy and strong enough to undertake the responsibilities involved in the expected rigours of campaigns and politicking when the time comes.”

Tinubu had stayed in the United Kingdom for over three months in 2021 when he underwent surgery and therapy for knee injury.

He, however, returned to the country in October of the same year and travelled to some parts of the country to meet political juggernauts and stakeholders ahead of next election.

The health condition of the 69-year-old APC leader has constantly become a subject of controversy but many of his staunch supporters have argued that Tinubu is fit to become Nigeria’s President, adding that he is not older than the current President of the United States, Joe Biden, 79; and his predecessor, Donald Trump, 75.

Ethiopian athlete, Geleta Ulfata on Saturday won the 7th edition of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon.

Naija News reports that Ulfata beat about 300 marathoners to win the 42km race and the grand prize of $30,000.

Kenyan duo of Emmanuel Naibei and David Barmasai Tumo won the 5th and 6th editions of the City Marathon respectively.

More details to come…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced changes in the result viewing portal less than 12 hours to the area council poll in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

INEC is statutorily empowered to conduct elections into the six area councils of the territory. The councils are; Abaji, Kwali, Kuje, Gwagwalada, Bwari and Abuja Municipal.

The commission, in a statement on Friday by its National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, said changes had been made to the Uniform Resource Locator.

The portal allows citizens to view copies of election results as compiled and recorded at polling units upon the conclusion of voting at an election

According to the statement, the URL to the page, which is the internet address, has been changed from www.inecelectionresults.com to www.inecelectionresults.ng.

On Thursday, YIAGA Africa had called the attention of the electoral umpire to the result viewing portal.

“Dear @inecnigeria its 14hrs to the #FCTAreaCouncilElections2022 and the Election Results Viewing portal is down and inaccessible. When will the site be fixed to enable citizens access polling units results in tomorrow’s election?” YIAGA had tweeted.


The Commission stated that all previous information and credentials on the old domains remain valid.

It said the migration was to ensure optimum performance.

INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION

PRESS RELEASE

The INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV)

The INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) has been updated to ensure optimum performance and accountability.

The Uniform Resource Locator (URL) has been migrated from www.inecelectionresults.com to www.inecelectionresults.ng.

All previously registered user credentials from the old URL remain valid on this new URL.

Notification emails containing the new URL will be sent to all registered users.

The notification to this effect has been uploaded to the Commission’s social media platforms.

Festus Okoye Esq.
National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee

11th February 2022.