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ASUU Strike: FG, Union To Continue Negotiations
The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, has said that government would continue its negotiations with ASUU to fulfill their demands except that of exemption from Treasury Single Account (TSA).
Adamu, who disclosed this after the Federal Executive Council meeting last Wednesday, admitted that government had not fulfilled its own part of the agreements with the university lecturers.
He acknowledged that ASUU had late last year issued a one-week strike notice leading to a meeting where agreements were reached but noted that the Association did not follow due process for the current strike.
“The issues we agreed on, there are eight of them.
“Already, let’s say there was the issue of negotiation which is the only one they agreed that government has done what it promised because we set up the negotiation team and the negotiation is already ongoing.
“There is the issue of their earned allowances and I think that because of some miscommunication what was promised could not be done but I am assuring ASUU and the nation that this is going to be done.
“There is the issue of registration for the Nigerian Universities’ Pension Commission.
“I think in that one, there are few issues that they need to sort out with the Nigerian Pension Commission and I believe that there will be no problem there.
“The other is the issue of their staff school which I think the court has given them the verdict to go ahead with it.
“They have requested that they should be allowed off TSA and I think government will not do this.
“But there are some peculiar funds in the universities, like endowments, which are money kept and out of interests they generate prizes and so on are given.
“Government will exempt that one,’’ Adamu said.
Adamu stated that he expected that government and the striking lecturers would reach trusted agreements on the demands.
Explaining further on the TSA, he said that because the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) does not give interest on it, that was why endowments was exempted but other payments could be made into it.
He said that ASUU had been paid N30 billion of the allowances requested but because they were unable to render account of its disbursement it was stopped.
“The figures that I know, they have been paid N30 billion and the problem actually arose because they were not able to account for this N30 billion.
“And we said we will only give them the balance if they are able to account and the balance is N23 billion,’’ he said
The minister noted that the total demand was N53 billion, adding that government had the money to pay.
The minister re-affirmed his belief that ASSUU “is composed of patriotic people, very responsible’’, noting that it was one of the fruits of their struggle that led to the creation of the TETFUND.
He noted that without TETFUND today the university system could have collapsed, adding that he was not supporting ASUU but what was good.
Information Minister Lai Mohammed who also briefed on the memoranda submitted by the minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, said that council approved contract for the rehabilitation of Ajaokuta-Itakpe rail line.
He said that it involved track laying, permanent way works and ancillary facilities area and completion of 12 railway stations in favour of Messr CCECC Nig Ltd in the sum of $122.62 million.
He said the amount was inclusive of all taxes at the prevailing CBN exchange rate of one dollar to N305 with a completion period of 15 months.
According to him, Ajaokuta to Warri track is in good condition and when the new contract is completed, access to the seaport is achieved for the evacuation of goods.
Mohammed added that Amaechi also submitted a memo for the interim phase arrangement for the concession of the Nigeria’s narrow gauge railway system which was approved.
He said that the approval was to issue a letter of comfort to General Electric so that by October 2017 there would be full utilisation of Lagos–Kano and Port Harcourt-Calabar–Maiduguri line.
He said it was part of the efforts to rehabilitate the 30,000 km narrow guage line and make it ready for haulage of goods and services.
According to him, from October there will be new 17 wagons to move at least a million tonnes of goods from the roads.
Mohammed added that council also approved the variation cost for the construction of one 150 MVA 330/133 KVA transformer at Birnin Kebbi and the reinforcement of a sub-station in Kumbutso, Kano for the transmission company of Nigeria.
The Board stated this in a statement released by its Corporate Communications Directorate to newsmen, recently, during the inauguration of 140 trainees for the Train 7 Project.
The trainees had undergone the Nigerian Content Human Capacity Development (NC-HCD) programme it organised in partnership with the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
The Tide gathered that the training programme was an intensive three-month Advanced NC-HCD Programme for the US$5 billion NLNG Train 7 Project on Bonny Island, Rivers State.
The trainees, The Tide further learnt are graduates in different academic disciplines who have completed a 12-month Basic Training Programme in diverse oil-and-gas-industry-related skill sets and are now set for an on-the-job phase which includes active hands-on participation in operational areas such as Turn Around Maintenance (TAM), Commissioning, and Desktop Programmes.
The Corporate Communications Directorate of the NCDMB told The Tide that in November 2024, a set of 331 trainees under Batch A of the NLNG T7 HCD Training Programme began capacity development in facility management, engineering, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Health Safety and Environment (HSE), Quality Assurance and Quality Control, as well as welding and fabrication.
According to the Board, additional 77 trainees under Batch B of the same Training Programme began capacity development in data analytics and supply chain management among several other fields relevant to the operations of the oil and gas industry.
While addressing the trainees and trainers who were drawn from the Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN), Management Personnel of the NCDMB and NLNG, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr Felix Omatsola Ogbe, said the Advanced NC-HCD training is more than a milestone.
“The NC-HCD training programme is an expression of the collective commitment of the Board and the NLNG to nurturing world-class Nigerian professionals who will shape the future of our oil and gas industry.
“The Board has remained steadfast in its conviction that Human Capital Development is a critical investment in the sustainability and competitiveness of Nigeria’s oil and gas value chain”, the NCDMB boss said.
He said the situation has resulted in widened knowledge gaps and operational challenges.
As a globally regulated sector, he said it was important that stakeholders put measures in place to attract the talents required to move the industry forward.
Keyamo, therefore, called on stakeholders in the industry to be deliberate in identifying, encouraging, nurturing and harvesting young talents to ensure a sustainable supply of manpower to the aviation sector.
Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection of the FAAN, Mrs Obiageli Orah, in a release made available to aviation correspondents, noted that the Minister deemed it necessary to attract the right quality of human resources required to move the sector forward.
“As a globally regulated sector, it is important that stakeholders put measures in place to continually attract the right quality and quantity of human resources required to move the industry forward.
“It is important to note that organising training programmes are avenues through which we can breed, nurture, and harvest such human resources.
“One of the critical challenges facing the industry is the ageing and retiring workforce, leading to widened knowledge gaps and operational issues.
“Training programmes, I believe, is among other things designed to make aviation appealing to the younger generation, while encouraging them to develop interest in taking up a career in the industry”, the statement stated.
Meanwhile, some aviation stakeholders have expressed concerns of countless young Nigerians who seek to make their mark in aviation, tourism, and the wider transport ecosystem but often face steep barriers to entry.
According to them, lack of access, limited mentorship, financial constraints, skill mismatches, and systemic gaps, among others, have posed some constraints to them.
The Tide gathered that by the appointment, Ogbe becomes Nigeria’s representative on the Board of the 18-member continental body, which has its headquarters at Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo.
Ogbe was picked for this role by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, who doubles as the Chairman of the NCDMB Governing Council.
The notice of the Executive Secretary’s appointment was conveyed in a congratulatory letter signed by the Director of Support Services, APPO, Mrs. Philomena Ikoko, on behalf of the Secretary-General of the organisation, Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim.
She applauded the NCDMB boss on the confidence reposed in him by the Minister, expressing her belief that he would make immense contributions to the development of the African oil and gas industry.
Mrs Ikoko stated that Ogbe was joining the Executive Board of APPO at a challenging time for the oil and gas industry, especially in Africa.
“Your appointment is a major call to duty for Nigeria and the continent. The secretariat will give you the support you will need to make a success of your assignment”, she said.
According to a statement by the Directorate of Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination, the NCDMB played key roles in catalysing the operations of APPO and the development of local content in Africa.
The statement added that the board was providing institutional support and mentorship to several oil producing countries in their formulation of local content policies.
“The NCDMB initiated the African Local Content Roundtable (ALCR) and hosted the inaugural edition in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state, in June 2021, and the event was attended by key officials of APPO and other oil industry players.
“The idea for the Africa Energy Bank (AEB) was mooted by NCDMB’s officials at the event, as one of the strategies that would accelerate the growth of the African oil and gas industry and deepen local content.
“The Board also collaborated with APPO to host subsequent editions of the African Local Content Roundtable (ALCR), including the 2023 edition held at Abuja.
“The Africa Energy Bank, which APPO is setting up at Abuja, is aimed at pooling financial resources needed to fund big-ticket oil and gas projects across the continent, and bridge funding challenges currently impeding the development of the sector”, the NCDMB’S said.
Meanwhile, the APPO Secretary-General has said the Africa Energy Bank seeks to fund oil and gas projects across economies in Africa and help to plug critical financing gaps that exist through the continent’s over reliance on financiers from the West.
He added that each APPO member country is expected to raise $83 million with an objective of raising $5 billion capital for the establishment of the Bank.
The Tide learnt that recently Nigeria, Angola and Ghana have contributed their share capital for the African Energy Bank, which represents 44 percent of the trio’s contributions to the minimum capital that is required from oil producing countries in the continent.
It would be recalled that at the Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF) held recently, the NCDMB’s Scribe confirmed that the agency was part of key institutions that pooled resources for the formation of the Africa Energy Bank.
Ogbe announced that the Bank will open for business before the end of the 2nd quarter of this year, 2025, expressing hope that it will create more funding availability for local oil and gas projects and companies.
Similarly, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, had stated at the Offshore Technology Conference that Afrexim Bank has already raised $19billion for the take-off of the Africa Energy Bank.
According to him, $14 billion out of the funds represents the bank’s financial exposure on African oil and gas projects, with the additional $5 billion as take-off capital.