Niger Delta
AAU Crisis: ASUU Seeks NUC, Govt’s Intervention
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has called on the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Edo State Government to urgently intervene in the lingering industrial crisis at the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma.
The ASUU, Benin Zone, made the appeal in Benin at a news conference, which the union’s Coordinator, Prof. Fred Esumeh, said became expedient due to the marketing of lies, propaganda, mischief and blackmail against the branch of the union in the institution.
Esumeh, who was joined by the Chairmen of branches under the zone, said the union frowned at the poor funding and mismanagement of the university’s resources with the management’s inability to meet its obligation of payment of staff emoluments, hence a resort to irregular and selective payment of salaries.
According to him, the recent reduction in the monthly subvention of the university to an abysmally low N41.3 million from N270 million has led to the workers being owed 20 month salary arrears from 2020 to date, with 15 months of unremitted sundry deductions to staff unions.
This, he said, had put the total amount the university owed the union members and associations at N4 trillion.
“The State Government must of a necessity intervene at this point to clear the arrears of emoluments of workers of the university.
“For what it is, the problem is a catalyst for industrial crisis and, therefore, a threat to the smooth running of the academic calendar and the general administration of the university,” he said.
The ASUU leader also described the current management model in the institution as bizarre and far from the ideal administrative style of university administration in the country.
The institution, he noted, was being run on ad-hoc basis with an amendment to its law, which step up Special Intervention Team (SIP) as against Governing Council required by the NUC.
Esumeh said the management might be de-marketing the quality and value of certificate of degree programmes in the school by forcing the resumption of academic activities in the school and illegal conduct of examinations with the input of relevant course lecturers.
Other issues, the ASUU coordinator said needed the stakeholders’ immediate attention, included the suppression of staff right and freedom of association, controversial and inconclusive biometrics, among others.
To achieve industrial peace at the university, the union leader said the management and the Edo State Government would have to return to the path of truth, dialogue and sincere commitment to the resolution of the crisis.
“All outstanding emoluments – salaries, check-off dues and other deductions of staff in the university – should be paid without further delay to avoid the continuation of the local strike when the national strike is suspended.
“The Edo State Government should approve a bail-out fund for the university and satisfactorily increase the monthly subvention to the university.
“The ongoing academic fraud in the university should be investigated and dealt with decisively. We, therefore, call on the regulatory agency, the NUC, to immediately do the needful.
“The Edo State Government should make haste to release a white paper on the report of the Special Visitation Panel to the university in October 2020 to deter further embezzlement of the finances of the university and mismanagement of its affairs,” he said.
Esumeh also called for the restoration of Governing Council to pave way for immediate appointment of substantive principal officers.
Vice-Chancellor of the Edo State-owned university, Prof. Sonnie Adagbonyin, had, however, told The Tide’s source that the crisis was caused by union leaders’ refusal to understand the peculiarities of the university’s operational system.
“The State Government, he said, had never reneged in its financial obligations to the university and had been prompt in the release of the monthly subvention to the institution.
“We must understand that like all universities, AAU has its own peculiar system of operations. It relies on subvention from the State Government while the university management augments from fees paid by students.
“The union’s quarrel is that it is not as much as it used to be. But they have also failed to realise that within the university system, our capacity to discipline the resources and all the things that we do also have a role to play in sustaining us as a university.
“That has been the missing link. People just look at the amount government brings and begin to complain. How can this be enough to pay this or salary and can this settle the whole issues on ground.
“I want to say that what has always created a backlog of unpaid salaries is not what government brings. It is not the IGR the university generates. It is the consistency in the fragmentation of academic calendar.
“And I think that it is what offended government to the extent of suspending activities of unions in the institution,” the Vice-Chancellor explained.
The Publisher and Editor-In-Chief of a Yenagoa-based tabloid, Niger Delta Herald, Mr. Francis Dufugha, has commended the Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, for the relative peace in the State.
Dufugha, however, expressed resentment over what he described as stringent measures against assessing the State’s Students Loan Scheme, especially for the common citizens.
He made the observations while briefing journalists at the Earliest Ikoli Press Centre, Ekeki, in Yenagoa, the State capital.
“I commend the Governor for the relative peace in the state owing to his approach to the security of lives and properties in the State.
“For now, the police in Bayelsa State is using drones to monitor red flag areas that can cause security breaches and that has really encouraged the peace in the State.
“The security situation has improved and we commend the government for that. We cannot deny the fact that there is relative peace in the State”, he said.
On the State’s students loan, the publisher accused the scheme of having elitist posture due to its accessibility process.
He argued that it would be difficult for the ordinary Bayelsan to provide a Level-17 civil servant as guarantor to be able to benefit from the scheme, describing it as a systemic denial of the less privileged.
He noted that the loan was supposed to be a succour to indigent Bayelsa parents and students who could not assess education easily, noting that such persons should not be made to face cumbersome situations before assessing the financial instrument.
On road infrastructure, the Niger Delta Herald Publisher and Editor-in-chief praised the Diri’s administration on the work done on the three senatorial district roads and tasked the government to do more.
Dufugha, who described Bayelsa State as a wealthy State, asserted that the oil rich state needed to see more developmental strides comparative to its current financial status.
“Bayelsa is not a poor state in terms of public revenue. We’re an oil producing state. We receive federal allocations. We receive derivation revenue. We have access to enormous public resources.
“We receive interventions. Yet, after all these years, the ordinary citizen is still asking, what exactly are we getting for our money? Where are the industries? Where are the jobs? Where are the functional health institutions? Where is the agricultural transformation? Where is the human capital development? Where is the economic diversification?,” he argued.
He enjoined the government to redouble effort in the education and health subsectors, adding that it would pay the state a lot if there were centres for the treatment of critical health cases such as cancer and others in order to save lives and avoid capital flight.
The Publisher urged the Senator Diri-led government and the public not to misunderstand his message as hatred or personal issues with the Governor, but see it as a constitutional and professional duty to hold government accountable.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
The Bayelsa State Government has stated its stance on zero tolerance for corruption in governance and cautioned residents against writing frivolous petitions to anti-graft agencies.
Deputy Governor of the State, Dr. Peter Akpe, stated this rexently when he received the Resident Anti-Corruption Commissioner of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in ernment House, Yenagoa.
charge of Bayelsa and Rivers States, during a courtesy visit to Government House, Yenagoa.
Akpe said the general perception of those in politics has always been that of corruption, but noted that the position of the Douye Diri-led Prosperity Administration is non-tolerance for corruption.
Akpe, who frowned at the habit of writing unfounded petitions against individuals and groups, said the heap of petition files from Bayelsa State at the ICPC was several times higher than that from any other state in the country.
He reminded residents that writing unjustifiable petitions to anti-graft agencies is not only a bad culture, but also attracts jail penalty, and assured the ICPC of the state government’s support to improve public enlightenment.
“Our government is a government that believes in zero tolerance for corruption; that is why we are always open to interact with you and other anti-graft agencies.
“Usually, there is this issue of negative perception of politics and politicians. But it is not true that every politician is corrupt. We have a good number of people in politics that are not corrupt, and we believe that a good percentage of them are in this government.
“The issue of petitions at the ICPC: What we observed was that the heap of files from Bayelsa were 10 times higher than the ones from even Lagos, and 15 more times than the ones from Sokoto and other states.
“That is quite disturbing. More so, most of those petitions were ion, our people should also know that such frivolous petitions can land them in jail”, he saidfrivolous.
From a personal experience, I can tell you that most of the petitions are extremely frivolous. While we will never tolerate corruption, our people should also know that such frivolous petitions can land them in jail”, he said.
Earlier in her remarks, the ICPC Resident Anti-Corruption Commissioner in charge of Rivers and Bayelsa States, Dr. Ekere Usiere, highlighted the statutory mandate of the ICPC, stressing that its mission was to carry out sensitisation on the ills of corruption in the Nigerian society.
Usiere, who expressed concern at the volume of petitions currently before the ICPC emanating from communities in Bayelsa over the management of the PIA funds, expressed the commission’s desire to partner the Bayelsa State Ministry of Information to carry out sensitisation programmes.
The ICPC Resident Anti-Corruption Commissioner was accompanied on the visit by Assistant Chief Superintendent, Mr. Evans Peters; Principal Superintendent, Mr. Emmanuel Akpor; Assistant Superintendent, Mrs. Tamaraudoubra Ebebi; and the Administrative Officer, Mr. Frank Yileaziba.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has urged its staff to take retirement planning seriously by maximising pension schemes and other financial instruments that can guarantee financial security after their years of active service.
The Director of Administration and Human Resources, Sir Kelechi Nwelue, gave the advice during a commission-wide staff interactive session with Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) and insurance companies at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
In a statement signed and issued by Seledi Thompson-Wakama
Director, Corporate Affairs, Nwelue said the programme, approved by the Managing Director of the commission, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, was organised to sensitise staff on pension schemes and provide them with the knowledge required to make informed decisions about their retirement savings.
He particularly urged newly recruited employees to acquaint themselves with the operations and responsibilities of various PFAs before choosing an administrator to manage their pension contributions.
According to him, pension contributions deducted from employees’ salaries, alongside employers’ contributions, constitute long-term savings designed to provide financial support after retirement.
He urged staff to carefully assess the information provided by the participating pension administrators and choose the option best suited to their long-term financial interests.
Nwelue stressed that employees were at liberty to select their preferred pension administrator, noting that the interactive session provided an opportunity for the various companies to explain their products, services and benefits.
Also speaking, a Director in the Directorate of Administration and Human Resources, Mr. James Fole, said the programme was aimed at deepening employees’ understanding of pension, insurance and other financial instruments that could improve their financial wellbeing during and after active service.
Fole warned that inadequate preparation for retirement could expose employees to financial hardship in their post-service years.
He said: “That is not what the Managing Director, Executive Management and the entire management want for our staff. We want to see a situation where retirees enjoy a reasonable level of comfort, knowing that the Commission has contributed to their future.”
He added that equipping employees with appropriate financial knowledge while they were still in active service remained critical to achieving a financially secure retirement.
Several pension and insurance companies participated in the interactive session.
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