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LUTH Nurses Begin Indefinite Strike

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Nurses and Midwives at
the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, had on Friday, began an indefinite strike to press home their demands.
The nurses and midwives under the aegis of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) are protesting what they called stagnation, non-payment of salary and inadequate facilities.
The State Chairman of NANNM, Mr Olurotimi Awojide, told our correspondent  in Lagos that the association had given the management a seven-day ultimatum which expired on June 9.
Other demands are outstanding 2015 promotion results of 71 nurses, non-payment of nurses employed in 2015, lack of consumables, inadequate manpower and irregular water and power supply.
“We have been having series of problems with LUTH management for a while now which we have made effort to resolve but all to no avail.
“We have written several letters to them on pressing issues, they are not responding and that is why we are taking this action.
“For quite some time now, nurses work at night without light, leaving them with no choice of using torchlight and phones to attend to patients.
“This is a teaching hospital and infection control should be our priority and when there are no consumables, water, people improvise to attend to patients, ’’he said.
The Chairman of NANNM, LUTH chapter, Mrs Oluyemisi Adelaja, said inadequate equipment had affected the nurses’ care for patients in the hospital.
Adelaja said the strike was meant to call on the management and the Federal Ministry of Health to apply the same measures in LUTH as being done in other 52 federal health institutions.
“We want them to do the needful by giving our members their promotion as and when due and applying the same measures being applied to other health institutions to us.
“Because we are under the same Federal Ministry of Health and the same equity and justice should be extended to LUTH nurses.’’
Contacted, the Public Relations Officer of LUTH, Mr Kelechi Otuneme, told our correspondent that the management had not reacted yet on the development.
The Tide revealed  that few nurses were seen attending to some patients, while others joined the protest.
Meanwhile, the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital Branch of the Association of Resident Doctors has embarked on an indefinite strike over “incomplete salaries’’.
The President of the association, Dr Christian Adeneye, made the announcement in an interview with journalists  in Uyo on Friday.
Adeneye explained that resident doctors in the hospital had been receiving incomplete salaries since 2014, saying that all efforts to make government see reason on the mater had failed.
“We are embarking on an indefinite strike from today. The problem is about the incomplete salaries that we have been receiving for two years now.
“We have been negotiating with the Federal Government but there is insincerity on the part of government.
“We have been mandated nationally. All centres that are yet to comply with the implementation of the payment of our full salaries should embark on an indefinite strike.”
He said that the strike had not been postponed as was speculated by a section of the media.
The unionist confirmed, however, that there was a meeting with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, where it was agreed that medical centres that were already enjoying full salaries should not join the strike.

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Trade Modernisation: Customs’ CG Tours Huawei, Port In China

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The Comptroller-General  of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi, recently led his team to the Headquarters of Huawei, a famous information and communications technology company in Shenzhen, China, where he discussed opportunities embedded in Nigeria Customs Service Trade Modernisation Project.
This was disclosed in a press release made available to our correspondent in Lagos by the National Public Relations Officer (NPRO) of the Service, CSC Maidawa yesterday.
According to the release, the CGC’s visit to Huawei Headquarters was part of his official visit to the People’s Republic of China for the 6th Global AEO Conference that took place in the city of Shenzhen between Wednesday, 8th May, Friday, 10 May, 2024.
Stating the purpose of his visit to the company’s office on behalf of his team, CGC Adeniyi said, “We are also delighted to associate with the Global Leader Technology Services through the Team of Trade Modernisation.”
It would be recalled that the Service had, during the Huawei Connect 2023 held in Shanghai in October, 2023, expressed readiness to deploy some of the company’s latest products for use in its trade modernisation project.
The CGC, who urged Huawei’s company leadership to sustain their digitalisation services to NCS, also sought their support to collaborate with the Nigeria Customs Service to maintain their transformative journey with the company.
On his part, Xujing Xu, the Huawei Company’s Vice President of Smart Transportation, welcomed the delegation of the NCS led by Adeniyi and the Management Team of the Trade Modernisation Project (TMP) Limited, led by Chairman Saleh Ahmadu.
He expressed confidence that their collaboration will benefit all parties involved, noting that “the foundational work for this transformation is already underway”.
The TMP Chairman, Saleh Ahmadu, during his address, said Huawei is living up to expectations to deliver its mandate under the auspices of Trade Modernisation Project Limited.
He appreciated the support accorded to him by the CGC and his management team towards the success of the NCS Trade Modernisation Project.
In his bid to upscale the level of NCS modernisation, the Comptroller-General of Customs, alongside members of the Trade Modernisation Project led by Chairman Saleh Ahmadu, visited Lantan Port to witness the level of automation and technological solutions provided by Huawei and other tech partners.

In a related development, a training programme on Trends and Digital Solutions for Customs officials and the TMP team was organised by Huawei the same day, which focused on equipping officials with the necessary skills to navigate the digital landscape of modern trade.

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NERC Declares Most Discos Insolvent 

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Most of the lectricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) in Nigeria have been said to be technically insolvent and unable to not only pay for invoices sent to them from the electricity market, but also invest in network expansion projects.
Speaking at the 8th Africa Energy Market Place 2024 in Abuja, Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Engr. Sanusi Garba, said the poor financial state of the DisCos makes it difficult for them to raise the needed capital to invest.
Garba noted that the challenges facing the sector were a culmination of past inactions and missteps by those saddled with the responsibilities of managing the sector, both at policy and operational levels.
According to him, “Today when you look at distribution companies, they are clearly and technically insolvent, and you also want them to raise capital in terms of debt or equity. It’s a herculean task.
“I also want to mention that implementing the power sector reform requires powerful political will to implement decisions that impact the wider public”.
On his part, the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, said the government was working to get the distribution companies solvent and effective by unbundling their operations along state boundaries.
Adelabu insisted that the areas covered by the current DisCos are too large for them to deliver effective services to consumers.

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PH To Get Two CNG Refuelling Stations, Vehicle Conversion Parks

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Rivers State Capital, Port Harcourt, is set to have two Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) refuelling stations as well as two Vehicle Conversion Parks.
The Chief Executive Officer, FEMADEC Energy Limited, Fola Akinola, revealed this at the South-South/South-East Stakeholders Engagement Meeting on Presidential Initiative on CNG held in Port Harcourt, Weekend
Akinola, who stated that modalities have been concluded on the project, stressed the need for investment by stakeholders as a way of driving home the initiative of the Federal Government to ease the gas plight of its citizens.
Akinola said, “CNG is an old technology. We want to tell you that you have the opportunity to convert your vehicle from fuel to CNG. The stations will be launched in Port Harcourt and we are launching a refueling unit alongside. Rivers State is going to have a micro refuelling unit at Stadium Road and in GRA.
“For those that want to invest in CNG refuelling units, it is available. Even those who have fuel station facilities can as well invest in this”.
Earlier, the Programme Director, Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas, Michael Oluwagbemi, noted that Rivers State was the heart of oil and gas Region, insisting that the initiative was for the good of the nation as a whole.
“The initiative of the government is critical to our national development and to the well-being of the people. Rivers State is the heart of the oil and gas region”, he stated.
Oluwagbemi, however, expressed regret that over the last five to six decades, these resources have continued to waste.
“Nigeria is the second largest waste of oil and gas. We exploit it and waste it, then continue to suffer poverty. The President has set us on natural gas features and set up the nation on the path of growth. The use of gas ensures we have energy savings. Mind you, the price of Natural gas is controlled by the government.
“What the President is asking is to do more with the blessings God has given us. If we are able to move three million vehicles in the next three years, we are going to end the era of environmental degradation”, he said.
The Programme Director further said, “We will stop subsidising poverty, importing unemployment and exporting jobs.

By: Lady Godknows Ogbulu

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