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Settle Dispute With ASUU, Catholic Bishops Tell FG
About 170 Catholic Bishops in Nigeria have urged the Federal Government to “quickly and permanently” settle the row with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The clerics, under the aegis of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, yesterday, asked the government to sustain talks with ASUU with a view to resolving the dispute.
The Catholic Bishops were quoted in a communique issued in Abuja at the end of their first plenary and signed by the outgoing President and Secretary of CBCN, Most Revds Augustine Akubeze and Camillus Umoh, respectively, as saying that the recurring industrial dispute and unnecessary bickering between the leadership of ASUU and the government was not serving the best interest of students and that of the nation.
They said, “In our nation today, we observe that there is nofunctional, stable, qualitative and affordable educational system that should be the bedrock of development.
“Currently, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is on strike with the consequent closure of our public universities, thereby leaving our young people roaming the streets. We urge the Federal Government to quickly and permanently settle the dispute in the interest of human and national growth.”
According to the bishops, the best option open to both parties is dialogue to resolve areas of conflict and ambiguity in the interest of the all stakeholders.
They also affirmed that political office holders have a fundamental role to play in providing good governance.
According to them, “Although political parties are the platforms through which political offices are sought in Nigeria, elected officials should build fraternity among all citizens irrespective of differences in creed, ethnic group, sex, and political opinion.
“In our nation today, we observe that there is no evident fairness in the distribution of social amenities or in making appointments to offices despite the Federal Character principle enshrined in the Constitution.”
On the issue of constitutional electoral reforms, the Catholic Bishops stated that a faulty Constitution could breed rancour, discontent, and derail development.
Consequently, they urged the Legislature and the Executive arms of the government to exercise their relevant roles to give the nation an adequate Constitution that reflects the common aspiration of the people to live in unity, justice, and peace.
The communique added, “The Electoral Act 2022, if well and sincerely implemented, we believe that this law will engender a better democracy in which there would be free, fair and transparent elections, through which people choose their leaders who would serve the common good.
“We gladly welcome the adoption of modern technology to improve the quality of our electoral process. However, in and of itself, technology may not necessarily guarantee free and fair elections.
“We, therefore, draw attention to the need for sincerity and vigilance over the accuracy and objective use of the technology being adopted. We encourage good and qualified people with the right intention to vie for political offices.”
The bishops also stressed the need for Nigerians to embrace dialogue and friendship to counter violence and insecurity.
“We request the governments at all levels to do more in ending insecurity, especially by exploring the path of dialogue even with those opposed to its policies. For dialogue and friendship in society is the desirable mean between selfish indifference and violent protest,” they stressed.
The CBCN also announced a smooth change in its leadership.
The newly appointed Archbishop of Owerri, Most Rev. Lucius IwejuruUgorji, has been elected the president, while the Archbishop of Kaduna, Most Rev. Matthew Man-OsoNdagoso, is the vice president.
Similarly, the Bishop of Uromi, Most Rev. DonatusAihmiosionOgun, is the secretary; and Bishop of Abeokuta, Most Rev. Peter Odetoyinbo, is the assistant secretary.
The Nigeria Immigration Service has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this yesterday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
He said the centralised production system aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N2.225 trillion as federation revenue for the month of August 2025, the highest ever allocation to the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.
This marks the second consecutive month that FAAC disbursements have crossed the N2 trillion mark.
The revenue, shared at the August 2025 FAAC meeting in Abuja, was buoyed by increases in oil and gas royalty, value-added tax (VAT), and common external tariff (CET) levies, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.
Out of the N2.225 trillion total distributable revenue, FAAC said N1,478.593 trillion came from statutory revenue, N672.903 billion from VAT, N32.338 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N41.284 billion from Exchange Difference.
The communiqué revealed that gross federation revenue for the month stood at N3.635 trillion. From this amount, N124.839 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N1,285.845 trillion was set aside for transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings.
From the statutory revenue of N1.478 trillion, the Federal Government received N684.462 billion, State Governments received N347.168 billion, and Local Government Councils received N267.652 billion. A further N179.311 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) went to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.
From the distributable VAT revenue of N672.903 billion, the Federal Government received N100.935 billion, the states received N336.452 billion, while the local governments got N235.516 billion.
Of the N32.338 billion shared from EMTL, the Federal Government received N4.851 billion, the States received N16.169 billion, and the Local Governments received N11.318 billion.
From the N41.284 billion exchange difference, the Federal Government received N19.799 billion, the states received N10.042 billion, and the local governments received N7.742 billion, while N3.701 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the oil-producing states as derivation.
The Governing Council of Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, has decried the inadequate power supply and poor state of infrastructural facilities and equipment at the institution.
The Council also appealed to the government, including Non-Governmental Organisations, agencies, as well as well-meaning Rivers people to intervene to restore and sustain the laudable gesture, dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the polytechnic.
The Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Professor Friday B. Sigalo, made this appeal during a tour of facilities at the Polytechnic, recently.
Accompanied by members of the team, Prof Sigalo emphasised the position of technology, technical and vocational education in sustainable development.
He noted that with the prospects on ground, and the programmes and activities undertaken in the polytechnic, there is no doubt that the institution would add values to the educational system in our society and foster the desired development, if the existing challenges are jointly tackled.
This was contained in a statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Public Relations, Kenpoly, Innocent Ogbonda-Nwanwu, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.
The chairman who restated the intention of his team of technocrats to ensure that KenPoly enjoys desirable face-lift, said the Council would deliver on its core mandates, accordingly.
Earlier, the Rector, KenPoly Engr. Dr. Ledum S. Gwarah, commended the appointment of Professor Friday B. Sigalo as Chairman of the KenPoly Governing Council.
He described him and his team as seasoned technocrats and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed.
The Rector pledged the management’s support to the Council to ensure that KenPoly resumes its rightful place in the comity of polytechnics in the country.
Facilities visited by the Governing Council include KenPoly workshops, laboratories, skills acquisition centre, library, hostels and medical centre.
Chinedu Wosu
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