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NASS To Investigate UNN Students’ Protest
Apparently disturbed by the violent demonstration by students of the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) which led to the immediate closure of the institution last Saturday, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Information and Media, Chief Ayogu Eze has called on National Assembly to investigate the remote and immediate causes of the upheaval to avoid further unrest at the university.
Senator Ayogu who spoke to reporters in Enugu, Sunday, condemned the ugly development at UNN, saying it was high time sanity was brought to the nation’s citadel of learning which he noted had been the pride of not only the South East, but the nation in general.
His words: “My attention has been drawn to the riot by Students of the University of Nigeria Nsukka on Saturday, January 16, 2010 leading to the destruction of valuable property. I condemn this action by the students in very strong terms. I have however studied the situation leading to this sad development and I have found out that the management of the university has a lot of questions to answer. The Vice Chancellor, Professor Bartholomew Okolo has been most inaccessible to the Students’ Union leadership and where he is, has been most intransigent in dealing with issues of administration”
According to him, “The immediate cause of the riot was an attempt to raise school fees by as high as 150 percent without, as it were, taking all stakeholders on board. As the Senator representing the area where the university is located, I know next to nothing about what is going on in the university. Since this riot broke out, I have called the Vice Chancellor over 20 times and sent text messages all of which have been ignored. Gone are the days when Vice Chancellors operated like mini-gods and looked down on everybody”, he stressed.
Chief Ayogu who did not hide his feelings during the chat further said, “If a senator can be ignored so brazenly, only God knows how this Vice Chancellor relates to his subordinates. I wish to ask the Committee on Education in the Senate and House of Representatives to conduct full hearing on this matter with a view to getting to the root of this matter”.
He also made it clear that the people of his district were also worried about reported moves by the Vice Chancellor and the school authorities to move out professional courses from the school, adding “We are major stakeholders in that university and refuse to be ignored in the affairs of the school”.
In a swift reaction, the embattled Vice Chancellor of UNN, Professor Barth Okolo, dismissed rumours making the rounds that a hike in school fees ignited the recent violent demonstration by students of the institution. Professor Okolo , who addressed newsmen at the Enugu Campus of the university, also insisted there was no time that the management of the institution proposed any hike in students school fees, maintaining that students did not organise the unrest. He accused some staff of the institution who contested the position of the vice chancellor with him of masterminding the protest that led to wanton destruction of properties of the institution, saying that the sponsors of the unrest were not happy with his administration’s giant strides within a short time. His words: “The protest was not caused by any hike in school fees. We never proposed any increment in school fees. We did not increase students’ schools fees. Students did not arrange the protest. Some miscreants who contested the position of the VC with me and failed arranged the protest. We have their names. They destroyed the new things that we brought to the institution. “As I said before, there is a process for school fees increment; it is not our work to increase school fees. The management has no powers to determine school fees. We assured the Student Union Government ( SUG) and other stakeholders that they will be informed when schools fees will be increased”, the embattled VC added. It would be recalled that students of UNN, Saturday January 16, 2010 embarked on violent demonstration destroying properties of the university worth millions of Naira which led to the immediate closure of the institution by the authorities of the school.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
News
RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.