US-Based Nigerian Awarded Physician Of The Year

  National Medical Association, NMA, has selected a Nigerian, Prof. Samuel Dagogo–Jack, as the NMA Internal Medicine Section Physician of the year 2013, Dagogo-Jack, a Professor of Medicine and Director, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, and Director, Clinical Research Centre at the University of Tennessee Health Science Centre, Memphis, U.S.A., was selected based on his work in pathology of pre-diabetes and diabetes.

 The letter conveying his selection read: “You have been selected to receive this honour based on your work and research in pathology of pre-diabetes and diabetes and your continued dedication to the NMA Internal Medicine Section.

 “We would like to honour you during our annual NMA 2018 Convention and Scientific Assembly in Toronto, Canada, at our Internal Medicine Section dinner on Sunday evening, July 28th, 2013.”

  Dagogo-Jack, who hails from Rivers State, holds the A.C. Mullins Endowed Chair in Translational Research at the University of Tennessee.

 He also holds an MD and a second doctorate in medical research from the University of Ibadan College of Medicine back home in Nigeria, an MSc from the University of Newcastle‚ he is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London, the American College of Physicians and the American College of Endocrinology.

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Obafemi Awolowo University Inaugurates N600m ICT Centre

The Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, has launched a centre of excellence in software engineering built and equipped at a cost of  N600 million ($4m).

 The construction of the N450 million building housing the centre was funded by Skye Bank Nigeria Plc. Procurement and installation of ICT equipment at the centre, valued at $3 million (N450 million), was funded through the Step B/World Bank Project.

 The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Bamitale Omole, who inaugurated the centre, said that the mission of the university with regard to ICT was to harness modern technology for effectiveness and efficiency for the benefit of all.

 “The problem of large classes will soon be a thing of the past as lecturers and students can interact real time online,’’ he said.

 He appealed to financial institutions, the private sector as well as the institution’s alumni to take a cue from the gesture of Skye Bank.

 In his remark, the Group Managing Director of Skye Bank, Mr Kehinde Durosinmi-Etti, said that the decision of the bank to build the centre was in line with the organisation’s philosophy.

 “It is our desire to support causes that are of benefit to aid the extension of the frontiers of education.

 “The application of information technology in our education has assumed a more important dimension as it confers several advantages.

 “It is expected that the ICT centre will enhance the operational efficiency of the university,’’ he said.

 Prof. Rowland Ndoma-Egba, Pro Chancellor of the university, commended Skye Bank for the gesture, saying the desire of the university council was to leave the institution better than they met it.

 “With this magnanimity from Skye Bank, the university should maintain its lead in ICT education with a view to developing software that is technologically advanced, but purposely indigenous.

 “OAU is coming to a point where we should be able to produce indigenous computers, IPADs, IPODs and other gadgets to address the realities facing Nigeria,’’ Ndoma-Egba said.

 The facilities at the centre include a tele-presence centre, cloud computing laboratory, software studio and students’ internet access laboratory.

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Nigerian Student Needs N5m For An Open Heart Surgery

Jeremiah Emmanuel is a Nigerian student at  Yaba College of Technology, Lagos. He is  22, but looks like a 12-yr old child.

 His problem is that he is ravaged by diseases.

 Since he was aged 3, he was diagnosed with congenital heart disease and was placed on drugs.

 Campaigners on his behalf said his condition was stable for some years, but the disease has since resurfaced, and now more vicious.

 Right now the heart disease has made his stomach, legs and private part swollen and he needs an Open Heart Surgery in India, to stay alive.

 Doctors diagnosed his health defect as Ventricular septal defect.

 We can all be indifferent and allow Jeremiah to die, but we certainly will all bear the burden of guilt for not helping a fellow Nigerian when it matters most.

 The funding goal for the surgery has been fixed at $30,000 (5million naira), according to Aminat Adebukola Wahab of Shawttynatt Online Media.

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University Withdraws From ASUU Strike

The Adamawa State University’s chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has announced its withdrawal from the on-going nationwide strike called by its national body.

 Reports say that the development followed a vote of "no confidence" passed by some lecturers on the chapter’s executive council in Mubi on Thursday.

 The vote was passed during a special congress where Dr Kamkwis Zira was nominated as the new acting Chairman.

 Zira, who announced the withdrawal, accused the ousted executive council members of joining the nationwide strike without due consultation with members.

 "The new executive council has met with the university authorities and resolved to resume lectures on Monday,’’ the new acting Chairman said. In a swift reaction however, the ousted chapter chairman, Molem Ishaku, said he was still in charge and that the strike would continue. Ishaku described his removal as "an illegal development that cannot stand’’.

 When contacted on the development, the University’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Alkasum Abba, said all he knew was that the chapter’s ASUU had withdrawn from the on-going industrial action.

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British Council launches commonwealth legacy project

To create an awareness about the Commonwealth, its values and the upcoming commonwealth games scheduled for 2014, the British Council is planning to distribute Commonwealth global information packs to some Nigerian teachers, to enable them teach students about various activities going on in all commonwealth countries.

 The Project Manager, Olamipo Oyetunde, who spoke during the launch of ‘Commonwealth Legacy Project’ in Lagos, explained that the packs, which had already been given to some selected teachers who were present at the launch, would later in the year be distributed to other teachers in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano and the federal capital territory.

 The overall aim, she said, is to groom the students.

 She said: “|It would also facilitate dialogue between teachers and young people across the globe and as well provide deeper knowledge and understanding about commonwealth countries, cultures and features of their environment, including awareness about the 2014 Commonwealth games that will be hosted in Glasgow.

 “It was specifically designed to support young people’s education about the world around them.

 It includes an online debate, which will enable Nigerian students interact with other students around the world as students from all Commonwealth countries will be participating.

 The BBC will be hosting a series of monthly online debates from summer this year and any school in the commonwealth or the wider world can take part in it.

 The debates are topical conversations for pupils to join in and share their ideas and opinions with other pupils around the world”.

 She added: “Later on in the year, we will have the commonwealth information pack distributed to teachers in Lagos State and all the states where we are engaging teachers.

 We want teachers to rightly educate the children so that wherever they find themselves, they will be able to adapt because they already have an understanding of various culture around the world.

 And so, it is a legacy project aimed at exposing the children to happenings in other countries”.

 She also charged teachers to continually educate children on how to thrive in difficult situation rather than dwelling in negativity.

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University divided over ASUU strike

 We gathered that two factions each led by Professor Maduabuchi Dukor for the ASUU/NAU(Nnamdi Azikiwe University) Progressives and the local chapter of ASUU, led by Professor Ike Odimegwu, had emerged at the institution and are both struggling for supremacy.

 Problem started when the faction led by Dukor, which pulled out of the ongoing ASUU national strike, tried to conduct the second semester exam as scheduled, against the determination of the rival Odimegwu group to enforce the strike.

 The ensuing melee allegedly disrupted some examinations while lecturers and students were ordered out of examination halls.

 And as the rift continued, confusion reigned supreme.

 Although, security was beefed up at the Faculty of Social Sciences to ensure that all the scheduled examinations, including the a course titled ‘Statistics for Political Science’ , scheduled for the day were held successfully.

 But at the multipurpose hall of the new permanent site, the situation was different.

 It was alleged that strike enforcers aborted some scheduled examinations, by forcefully locking the examination hall and chased out the students.

 Many students who had earlier arrived at the new permanent site to write their examinations were seen clustering in groups and discussing the development, while other loitered within the premises.

 The University management, in collaboration with the members of the ASUU Progressives, have now resorted to fixing and conducting examinations at the time when it would not be possible for the strike monitoring team to disrupt activities.

 Some students of in various departments have however expressed the fear that the strike might affect their academic programmes adversely.

 They pleaded for an end to the dispute , urging the federal government to mend the fence with ASUU.

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National Gender Policy must be implemented now – AAU VC

 The Acting Vice-Chancellor of Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, Professor Cordelia Agbebaku, has advocated the enactment of specific laws that will compel governments at all levels to implement the National Gender Policy in order to ensure the protection of women’s rights and gender equality in the Country.

 She noted that the stoppage of all forms of cultural and traditional discrimination against women was key to the realisation of Vision 20:2020, adding that no nation desirous of achieving meaningful development can afford any shade of gender imbalance in the management of its public affairs.

 She spoke at a lecture on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality: A Case of Universality or Culture Relativism at the 44th inaugural lecture of the university in Ekpoma.

 Agbebaku stressed the need for the National Assembly to repeal laws that discriminate against women such as the laws on inheritance, divorce under customary law and others.

 Lamenting poor access to training, quality education and self-improvement as the major reason for women’s lack of empowerment, she noted that if this is addressed, the country will be a better place.

 According to her, women constitute half of the population in Africa and their under-representation in social, political and economic spheres must be addressed if Africa is to leverage fully on the promise and potential that it holds, adding that about 30 per cent of women participate in economic activities, often in very limited ways.

 Agbebaku further stated that economic empowerment of women is an important issue and should be taken seriously by families, communities, organisations and nations.

 “Women must have access to training, higher education and self-improvement in order to aspire to higher paying jobs. It is believed that continuous academic improvement by women significantly determines how far they can rise even much more than their male counterparts,’’ she added.

 “Empowering women provides more choices for women and creates female role models and mentors in places where economic opportunities have historically been limited.

 I have noted that the elusiveness of attaining gender equality and protection is not as a result of a dearth of legislations geared towards redressing gender inequality.

 Indeed, gender equality continues to be central themes in global treaties, conventions and declarations. “In spite of these efforts, gender discrimination against women still looms large in Nigeria.

 By way of recommendations to stem this tide, I wish to suggest the following: An effective and efficient enforcement mechanism to ensure compliance should be provided for international, regional and municipal laws guaranteeing and protecting gender rights.

 Legislations that discriminate against women should be expressly repealed. e.g. laws on inheritance, divorce under customary law etc.”

 Legal awareness programmes should be institutionalized in order to empower women with increased knowledge of their rights under existing laws. Customs and practices which negate the human rights of women should be abolished.

 Thus, customary and religious laws which engender gender inequality should be expressly abolished by legislation.

 Women’s rights should be accorded the status of human rights as they are universal. Therefore, specific laws must be enacted to ensure their protection and enforcement.

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Include money management studies in curriculum - Educationist

The Executive Director, Amville School, Mrs. Mosun Owo-Odusi, has called on the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council to include money management studies in the curriculum of basic schools Nationwide.

 She argued that this would put a stop to the resource mismanagement challenge facing the country.

 Owo-Odusi gave the advice during the fifth graduation of the school on Wednesday in Lagos.

 According to her, pupils of the school are taught money management to prepare them for the future. She said, “Pupils should be taken through things like planning a single budget on the little allowances they get every month by looking at their income and expenditure.

 They should also go through things like knowing if they are making loss or gain. In Amville, it is activity-based and we taught them using both the local and international currencies.

 They had a brief stint at money management skills via the Junior Achievement. Owo-Odusi, who lamented the declining state of education in the country, urged the Federal Government to invest more in basic education.

 She added, “The state of education in our nation is worrisome and calls for action. The national security challenges stem from failed family structures, poor and failed educational systems and unemployment.

 At the centre of this is the education system. It is worrisome that in some states in our nation there are millions of children out of school.

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Sex education will reduce teenage pregnancy – UN

 

The United Nations as well as the National Population Commission, yesterday in Abuja called on.

The United Nations as well as the National Population Commission, on Thursday, in Abuja called on the Federal Government to ensure the provision of comprehensive sex education in schools to reduce the trend of teenage pregnancy in the country.

 While the UN said it was supporting the government in the implementation of basic education programme and the Child Rights Act 2003, which criminalises child marriage, the NPC noted that the “inclusion of sex education in the curriculum of schools” would reduce adolescent pregnancy.

 The UN’s Resident Coordinator, Mr. Daouda Toure, who was represented by the Country Director of Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, Dr. Bilali Camara, said this during the roundtable discussion in commemoration of this year’s World Population Day, with the theme: “Adolescent pregnancy: Young people’s Access to information and services.”

 Toure said, “Complications from pregnancy and childbirth can cause grave disabilities, such as obstetric fistula, which are the leading cause of death for these vulnerable women. Adolescent girls also face high levels of illness and death due to unsafe abortion.

 “To address these problems, we must get girls into primary school and enable them to receive good education through their adolescence.

 When a girl is educated, she is more likely to marry later, delay childbearing until she is ready, have healthier children and earn more income.”

 Also, the NPC Chairman, Chief Festus Odimegwu, represented by the Chairman of the commission’s Technical Management Team, Dr. Festus Uzor, assured that the commission would take the lead in efforts to manage Nigeria’s population for further development.

 He said, “In Nigeria, most teenagers lack information and education on reproductive health issues, particularly on the need to avoid pre-marital sex, unwanted pregnancies and seek counselling on reproductive health services.”

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FRAUD!!! House Of Reps To Probe JAMB Over N21.3bn UTME Fees

The House of Representatives has ordered a probe into the financial status of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) with regards to its revenue remittances to government coffers.

 The House at its plenary yesterday said the body had, over the last three years, generated over N21 billion from sale of forms to candidates seeking admission into the nation’s tertiary institutions with no commensurate remittances, but still got appropriation of over N6 billion from the national budget within the same period of time.

 In its resolution on a motion moved on the matter by Ibrahim Ebbo, the House mandated its joint committee on Education and Finance to investigate the revenue generation and remittances of the Board, and report back its findings within two weeks.

 According to Ebbo, in 2011, 1,493,604 candidates bought forms and sat for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) organized by the Board at the cost of N4, 600 per candidate, translating to a total of N6,870,400 while it got an appropriation of N2,021,235,070 in the national budget the same year.

 Similarly, 1.5 million candidates sat for the UTME in 2012, amounting to N6.9 million generated through sale of forms, and 1,644,110 sat in 2013 and N7,562,906,000 generated through sale of forms while the Board got N2,370,273,304 and N2,377,397,191 for the two years respectively.

 The lawmaker said the investigation was necessary to ascertain whether JAMB was actually remitting the right sum to the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation as stipulated by the law.

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Academic Staff Union Agrees To Call Off Strike

 ASUP has agreed to call off strike at the meeting organized on Tuesday by the Joint Committee on Education of the National Assembly, the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics has agreed to call off the strike as soon as possible, once their demands are met.

 The meeting sought to resolve the confrontation between the Federal Government, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), and ASUP. Rukayat Rufai, the Minister of Education, and Chukwuemeka Nwogu, the Minister of Labour and Productivity were present at the meeting.

 The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Education, Uche Chukwumerije called the unions to end this impasse which has grounded tertiary institutions across the country.

 The President of ASUP, Chibuzor Asomugha stated that the polytechnic lecturers would do all within their powers to end the strike in the nearest time.

 “Our meeting with the Senate Committee on Education was successful. There was an agreement to meet our demands in the next two weeks as the request will be presented to President Goodluck Jonathan for his approval,” he said.

 Mr Asomugha noted that the Senate, asked the union to call off their strike and give the Senate some time to convey their demands to the President.

 However, Mr Asumogba stated that he cannot unilaterally end the strike based on government’s promise.

 He added ASUP will decide when to finish the industrial action “after our NEC meeting slated in two weeks.”

 ASUP demands waiting for presidential approval include implementation of the Consolidated Polytechnics and Colleges of Education Academic Staff Salary Structure, the Consolidated Polytechnic and Colleges of Education Academic Staff Salary Structure (CONPCASS), package, the appointment of the governing council and the issuance of the White Paper on same.

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FG To Sanction Schools Awarding Honorary Degrees To ‘Undeserving Personalities'

 Federal Government has warned that Universities who continue to award honorary degrees to ‘undeserving personalities’ will be severely sanctioned.

 This is a warning the Federal Government gave to Vice Chancellors and the Governing Councils of Nigeria on Monday.

 According to the Minister of Education Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufai who made the announcement in a meeting with Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, the issue of such degrees is "an embarrassment to government.”

 Minister said that President Goodluck Jonathan and she were not able to attend the ceremonies due to the lack of coordinated calendar for convocation ceremonies, and directed the Vice-Chancellors to streamline convocation ceremonies so that many universities’ ceremonies will not overlap.

 Prof. Rufai noted that many private and state universities were yet to establish effective governance structures in their schools.

 She also recalled the FG’s dismay over the ongoing establishment of universities and running of programs bypassing the laid down criteria for the establishment of universities in line with globally acclaimed practices.

The Minister warned, “I therefore urge the perpetuators of this illegal act to discontinue henceforth in view of its negative consequences on university education vis-à-vis graduate output.

 On this note, let me reiterate the Federal Ministry of Education’s support to the Standing Committee on the closure of illegal universities.”

 Minister kept on warning the Vice-chancellors against mobilization of part-time students and students from unaccredited programs for the National Youth service scheme (NYSC), which is designed exclusively for graduates from recognized universities with accredited programs.

 The universities breaching this rule will also be sanctioned, she added.

 Prof. Rufai also directed universities to ensure that degree results were released on time to enable the early mobilization of qualified students for NYSC.

 In light of upsurge of insecurity, Prof. Rufai urged university authorities to consult with the local governments as to facilitate internal security on campus.

 Finally, Minister announced that NUC would sanction universities for charging above the approved N2, 000. 00 for the upcoming post UTME.

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Nigeria Position's poorly on Literacy Rate List? (See full list)

 According to Indexmundi, the list below is the ranking of African countries by the literacy rate.

 This entry includes a definition of literacy and Census Bureau percentages for the total population, males, and females.

 There are no universal definitions and standards of literacy.

 Unless otherwise specified, all rates are based on the most common definition – the ability to read and write at a specified age (15 and above).

 Detailing the standards that individual countries use to assess the ability to read and write is beyond the scope of this article.

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State partners UK College on establishment of poly

The Cross River State Government has entered into a partnership with Highbury College in Portsmouth, United Kingdom to design a demand-driven curriculum for the state polytechnic, which is billed to take-off in October, this year.

 The curriculum would ensure that graduates of the polytechnic are employable.

 Speaking at a Conference on World-Class TVET Eco-system Project in Calabar, Governor Liyel Imoke disclosed that the state was partnering the college because it is the best vocational institution in the United Kingdom.

 The Governor described as unacceptable, a situation where Nigerian universities churn out graduates, who were not employable.

 He noted that over the years the quality of education in the country had dropped, adding that in order to address the shortfall in the sector the state took the step of partnering with the Highbury College.

 Imoke remarked that government would not compromise on merit concerning the appointment of principal officers of the institution as to do so will be unhelpful to the cause of revamping the education sector.

 He said, “The reforms in the education sector is yielding result and there is need for us to work harder to better the result going forward”, adding that, “we want to sustain the partnership and build on it, because the focus is to ensure Cross River State graduates are employable to make a difference in the economy.”

 The Principal and Chief Executive of Highbury College, Mrs. Stella Mbubaegbu, who commended Imoke for his commitment to the development of the education sector, described the partnership as a new dawn that will make the difference in sector.

 Mbubaegbu said the world is growing and is at the age of entrepreneurship and that the curriculum of the polytechnic will be designed to intertwine technical and vocation education training to boast entrepreneurship development.

 The state Commissioner for Education, Prof. Offiong Offiong, disclosed that the objective of the conference was to interact with stakeholders in the public and private sectors in creating a world-class TVET Eco-system based on market driven curriculum and accreditation.

 The aim is to enable young people own their businesses.

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Strike: University and Poly students protest in Lagos, block roads

Eyewitnesses told reporters that the placard carrying students barricaded Ikorodu Road at Onipan area bemoaning their fate as they have been compelled to, yet again, sit at home due to the strike actions embarked upon by the lecturers.

 The protest has however, brought traffic on the ever busy Ikorodu road to a halt as the students danced and played football in the middle of the road.

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ASUU Strike Latest: Government, Lawmakers set for Crucial Meeting

A week after university lecturers across Nigeria commenced an indefinite strike, the Federal Government said it is taking all necessary steps to resolve the contending issues.

 The Minister of Education, Professor Ruqayyatu Rufa’I, on yesterday also appealed to the lecturers, members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), to suspend the strike and resume duties.

 Ms. Rufa’I, who made the appeal at a meeting with vice-chancellors of Nigerian universities in Abuja, said: “we plead with them to go back to classes.

 “We are having a meeting tomorrow at the National Assembly with the Senate and House of Representatives to resolve all the issues.

 “Besides, the white paper on the 2010 Visitation Panel Reports on Federal Universities has since been released and forwarded to the universities for implementation.

 “Consequently, monitoring teams will soon visit the universities to ensure implementation of the recommendations.”

 The minister noted with dismay that many private and state universities were yet to establish effective governance structures and that the development had grave implications for the running and development of the universities.

 She noted that the issue of the award of honorary degrees to undeserving personalities remained an embarrassment to government. Ms. Rufa’I said the Federal Government was disturbed by the continuous establishment of universities and running of programmes without regard to due process.

 She advised those culpable to desist from such acts which were capable of inflicting injury on the university education system.

 She also pledged her support for the Standing Committee on the Closure of Illegal Universities.

 “My attention has also been drawn to the mobilisation of unqualified students for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC.) “In line with the extant rules, the NYSC is exclusively for graduates from recognised universities and accredited programmes,” she said.

 She directed universities to, as a matter of expediency, ensure that degree results were released early to aid quick mobilisation of qualified students for the NYSC programme.

 Ms. Rufa’I warned that institutions undertaking wrong mobilisation of students for the national service would henceforth be sanctioned.

 ASUU had last week, embarked on the indefinite strike to protest government’s failure to implement certain agreements reached with the union since 1999.

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Nigeria State with the highest rate of teenage pregnancies - NPC

The National Population Commission, NPC, disclosed yesterday that Katsina State has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy and motherhood in the country.

 Chairman of NPC, Eze Festus Odimegwu, who disclosed this at a briefing to mark the 2013 World Population Day in Abuja, said while the state accounted for 65 percent of teenage pregnancy, Edo State recorded the least percentage of 2.9.

 Odimegwu said: “Teenage pregnancy varies markedly in the Northern and Southern zones, as well as in urban and rural areas.

 “They are higher in the Northern geo-political zone’s rural areas.

 One in every three teenage girls in the North has started child bearing in 2008, compared to one in every 10 in the South.

 Odimegwu, who was represented by the Head, Technical Management, NPC, Mr. Festus Uzor, noted that pregnancy was the highest killer of teenage girls worldwide.

 He said for girls and women aged 15-19, pregnancy and child birth were the number one killer, adding that they were the cause of 50,000 deaths of teenage girls every year.

 He opined that: “Teenage pregnancy not only imposes severe health and psychological strains on their baby and the teen mothers but also have a long term negative impacts on sustainable development efforts.

 “It worsens the population and reproductive health situation and compromises genuine efforts to promote gender equity, educational attainment, family values and economic development”.

 Odimegwu named the negative impacts of teenage pregnancy to include unsafe abortion, pregnancy complications, poor ante-natal care, week pelvic bones, high fertility rate and curtailment of educational attainment.

 He blamed poverty for increased incidence of teenage pregnancy, noting that teenage pregnancy remained the most prevalent among girls from poor households.

 According to him, poor teenagers are also the least likely to use condoms among women who had high-risk sexual intercourse in the 12 months preceding the surveys.

 Calling for a concerted effort to combat the ugly trend, Odimegwu said: “Teenage pregnancy is still high in Nigeria with a resultant poor sexual and reproductive health.

 “For a nation that seeks to improve the welfare of the people on a sustainable basis, pursuing a concerted effort with broad based national consensus and international support in combating teenage pregnancy is an absolute necessity.

 “It is, therefore, imperative for Nigeria to implement national and international conventions that seeks to curtail teenage pregnancy.

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Vigilante kills student and MTN staff

Tragedy struck in Abeokuta yesterday when men of the Vigilante Service of Ogun State (VSO) State Vigilance Service reportedly shot dead a student of Moshod Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta; Moruf Raji, 29, and a staff of MTN, Akeem Usman ,32, while chasing suspected armed robbers.

 The incident occurred at Adigbe, Abeokuta about 1.00am when a team of Vigilance Service allegedly ordered residents of 18A Sorinola Avenue, Ori yanrin, to open the gate for them to arrest suspected armed robbers believed to be hiding in the building.

 An eye witness told us that some of the residents who were mostly students refused to open the gate thinking that the vigilantes were armed robbers that were trying to play smart on them.

 The witness further explained that both Moruf and Akeem went out from their rooms and opened the gate for them but, as the duo were attempting to open the gate, one of the men of VSO opened fire on the two men and killed them.

 report gathered that,men of the VSO still went ahead to force their way into the compound after shooting the two men and ransacked the rooms.

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Senate Moves To End Strike

THE Senate has waded into the over 9 weeks strike by the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics ASUP, raising hope of an imminent resolution.

 President of ASUP, Dr. Chibuzor Asomugha, said yesterday that the Senate Committee on Education has intervened to end the protracted industrial action.

 According to him:”The Senate Committee has pledged to intervene and meet with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and the Office of Accountant-General of the Federation with a view to sorting out issues around the completion of appointment of members of governing councils of six polytechnics and the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) imbroglio.”

 Asomugha, who described the ASUP meeting with Senate Committee as fruitful, said “specific assignments were given to different stakeholders with Tuesday next week as deadline for results.”

 Present at the intervention meeting were members of the Senate Committee on Education, Education Minister, Professor Ruqayyatu Rufa’i and Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu. Also present were Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education, NBTE, Dr. Mas’udu A. Kazaure; National Publicity Secretary, ASUP, Mr. Clement Chairman; Permanent Secretary (Education) and Director of Establishment (Head Of Service) It would be recalled that ASUP embarked on nationwide indefinite strike on April 29 over what they termed Federal Government’s insensitivity to its demands.

 ASUP is asking government to adequately fund polytechnics, as well as appointing qualified rectors in Nigerian Polytechnics, and to resolve the issue of integrated polytechnic pay-roll system, among others.

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Students Massacre : Speaker Urge Security Agencies To Fish Out The perpetrators

  Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, described the massacre of 30 students and a teacher in northeastern Nigeria as “Ignoble, wicked and horrendous”.

 He then urged the security agencies to find the perpetrators as soon as possible.

 In a statement issued in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Malam Imam Imam, Tambuwal stated there was no justification for the dreadful crime.

 The speaker expressed sympathy for the families of the victims and urged Nigerians to be more vigilant and to help the security agencies with useful information to help secure their localities.

 Mr Tambuwal stated the gains recorded by security agencies in recent weeks in their battle against terror must continue in order to ensure that citizens are protected at all times.

 He reassured that the National Assembly will, always give necessary support to ensure that peace and security is restored in all parts of the country.

 The incident took place on Saturday morning at Government Secondary School, Mamudo, in Potiskum LGA of Yobe State.

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