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Strike To End Soon As We’ve Reached Agreement With ASUU, Others, Says FG

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The Federal Government has expressed optimism that the decisions reached in its three-part meeting with university-based unions would yield fruits next week.

The Head, of Press and Public Relations in the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mr. Olajide Oshundun, in a statement on Friday, said some agreements had been reached between the government and the unions.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, the Non-Academic Staff Union, and the Association of Academic Technologists are currently on strike.

The unions embarked on strike actions while demanding improved welfare packages, better working conditions, and implementation of various labor agreements signed with the Federal Government between 2009 and 2015.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige said, “We had a cordial and fruitful discussion; we looked at the issues dispassionately and reached some agreements, to the satisfaction of everybody in attendance.”

Ngige said the meeting was moved out of the labor ministry because the government involved some interested parties in a bid to resolve the dispute with the unions.

The parties were the Chief of Staff to the President and Chairman of the three-part meeting, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, the Chairman of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, and the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria and co-chair of NIREC, Rev. Sampson Ayokunle.

The negotiation team also had the Ministers of Labour, Finance, Education, ASUU leaders, and other stakeholders.

The Minister of Labour said, “We discussed. Everybody was happy. We reached some agreements, and we hope that by next week those agreements will start maturing.

“The four unions will also go and brief their members so that they can call off the strike.”

The minister said the issues in the 2009 agreement, such as the renegotiation of the condition of service and the wage review could be concluded next week.

In his remarks, Gambari lamented that the perennial problems in the universities had culminated in the mutilation of the nation’s educational calendar.

He urged ASUU to return to the classrooms while negotiations were ongoing, to avoid violence by students who had begun blocking roads and airports in protest of the prolonged strike.

He gave the assurance that the President, Muhammadu Buhari, was determined to put an end to the negative developments in the nation’s tertiary institutions.

“We need predictable and quality education so that the human capital required to move our country forward will be developed consistently,” Gambari said.

Ayokunle, on his part, also appealed to the unions to return to work in the interest of the children and the nation.

The ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, urged the government to give quality attention to education, saying all the problems in the sector could be amicably resolved if the government does the needful soon.

Meanwhile, students of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, under the aegis of the Great Ife Concerned Students in collaboration with the Fund Education Coalition protested against the protracted ASUU strike. They blocked major roads in Osun State, leading to gridlock.

The leader of the protesters, Omowumi Abraham, said, “With our education, we are becoming a threat to those in government. They should fund education. In 2020, we were at home because of the ASUU strike and coronavirus. There was a surge in the crime rate. They should not toy with our future. They should immediately reopen schools.”

In a similar vein, students of Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba-Akoko, on Friday, also took to the streets protesting against the strike.

Speaking during the protest, President of the Students’ Union Government, Kolade Ogunsanmi, said “We, Nigerian students, Adekunle Ajasin University students, are on the street of Akungba to express our displeasure to the Federal Government and in no distant time, the government should answer ASUU so that our universities can reopen.”

The Vice President of the Students’ Union, Kemisola Salami said, “Our education is being truncated; we are tired of sitting at home with no job; we are using this medium to plead with Federal Government to meet with ASUU and end the strike.”

In Imo State, university undergraduates also staged a protest on Friday against the lingering ASUU strike.

The Senate President of the National Association of Imo State Students, Alfred Jacinta, said, “We are giving them seven days to resolve their issues, else we will block all the major roads until our demands are met.

“We are not asking for too much. We are only asking that we should be allowed to complete our academic programs. It is a time for us to say enough is enough and take our destinies in our hands.”

Meanwhile, the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi, has appealed to the Federal Government and the striking ASUU members to resolve their differences to protect the future of Nigerian students.

Oba Akanbi made the call in a statement by his Press Secretary, Alli Ibraheem, on Friday.

The monarch said, “The security fragility of the nation calls for rigid handling of the educational sector. Failure to do so will unavoidably magnify the tense security challenge in the nation. I extend my appeal to the ASUU to prioritize students’ interest and be soft in their demand from the Federal Government.”

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NDLEA Seizes Lipsticks Stuffed With Drugs At Lagos Airport [VIDEO]

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Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have uncovered another batch of female lipsticks containing illegal drugs at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

Femi Babafemi, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, revealed this in a post shared on his X (formerly Twitter) page on Sunday.

He also urged Nigerians, particularly women, to be extremely vigilant when purchasing or accepting beauty products, especially from unfamiliar sellers or dubious online platforms.

The statement read, Ladies beware! It does appear like female lipstick is becoming attractive as an instrument for concealment and trafficking now with yet another consignment of factory fitted female lipsticks stuffed with illicit substances intercepted at MMIA barely a week after @ndlea_nigeria officers uncovered a similar cargo at a courier company in Lagos.

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JUST IN: Former President Buhari Dies In London Clinic

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Former Nigerian leader, Muhammadu Buhari, passed away on Sunday.

His longtime media aide, Garba Shehu, confirmed the news in a brief statement issued on Sunday afternoon, stating that the former president died at a clinic in London.

Shehu’s message, distributed to the media, read:
“INNA LILLAHI WA INNA ILAIHIRRAJIUUN. The family of the former president has announced the passing on of the former president, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, this afternoon in a clinic in London. May Allah accept him in Aljannatul Firdaus, Amin.”

The statement concluded with the date: July 13, 2025.

Although the cause of death was not disclosed, Buhari, who held office from 2015 to 2023, had frequently sought medical care in the United Kingdom during and after his time as president.

Buhari, a retired Major General in the Nigerian Army, first led Nigeria as a military head of state from 1983 to 1985. Decades later, he was elected president through a democratic process. He made history as the first opposition candidate to unseat a sitting president in Nigeria.

Funeral plans have not yet been made public.

 

More to come…

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No Effective Governance Without Full Local Government Autonomy — Femi Gbajabiamila

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The Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, has stated that governance at the local government level cannot be effective without complete autonomy.

He made the remark while addressing journalists after voting in the Lagos State local government elections in Surulere on Saturday.

When asked about the progress of implementing the LG autonomy ruling by the Supreme Court one year after it was delivered, Gbajabiamila described the process as ongoing and said it would be completed with time.

Gbajabiamila said, “The ruling was welcome by everybody. It’s the execution of that ruling and the implementation of that ruling that we are still trying to dot the Is and cross the Ts.

“I believe in a matter of time, we will realise full autonomy. There cannot be effective governance without full autonomy. That’s what we are working toward.”

In July 2024, the Supreme Court granted autonomy to all 774 local government areas across the country following a case filed by the federal government through the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation. However, the ruling is yet to be fully implemented.

Following the judgement, the Senate urged state and local governments to immediately adhere to the court’s directive, especially regarding local government accounts and direct fund disbursements.

The Senate also moved to amend relevant sections of the Constitution to ensure full local government autonomy nationwide.

The announcement was made by Deputy Senate President Senator Jibrin Barau, after lawmakers emerged from a closed-door session where they discussed alleged efforts by some state governments to bypass the Supreme Court’s ruling on July 11.

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