Dayilim also emphasised the importance of using food-grade materials and maintaining hygienic production environments to ensure consumer safety.
News
Updated: ASUU ends nine-month strike, may resume with virtual lectures
- Govt to decide reopening date due to COVID-19
University students in Nigeria can now heave a sigh of relief as the Academic Staff Union of University, on Wednesday, announced the suspension of its nine-month old industrial action.
National President of ASUU, Biodun Ogunyemi, made the announcement during a briefing of the union in Abuja.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, on Tuesday, had hinted that the prolonged strike by the university lecturers would be called off before January 15.
He also said in an interview on Wednesday that part of the agreement between the two parties was that the lecturers would conduct virtual teaching and restart academic activities before the January 18 stipulated by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.
Ogunyemi said ASUU’s decision to suspend the strike came after its National Executive Council (NEC) had at an emergency meeting ratified the agreements reached with the Federal Government at a meeting held on Tuesday which addressed most of the demands of the union.
He said that a committee had been set up to monitor the implementation of the agreements.
“On the basis of this, the National Executive Council meeting has decided to suspend its strike today. But we will not hesitate to resume the strike if government fails to keep to the agreement,” he said.
Ogunyemi noted that the actual day for the reopening of the schools, considering the COVID-19 pandemic, would be decided by the Federal Government and Senate.
He thanked the students and their parents for their understanding throughout the nine-month strike period.
He said, “No amount of sacrifice would be too much to get the matter resolved as long as the government is consistent with its commitments.”
When asked if the government had kept its promise to start payment of salaries arrears of ASUU members, Ogunyemi said that it had started.
He said it was also agreed that no ASUU member should suffer any loss of deserved benefits as a result of participation in the strike.
He said the union resolved to pursue the areas in the ASUU-FG agreement of 2009 and Memorandum of Action 2013 that require legislation such as the mainstreaming of the Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) into the annual budget and amending the National University Commission (NUC) Act 2004.
Ogunyemi listed key demands of ASUU for which an agreement was reached to include, the immediate release of earned academic allowances and mainstreaming of the EAA into the annual budget, using the agreed formula, to immediately engage the universities and other research centres in the fight against COVID-19.
As part of the agreement, according to him, the Federal Government is to expedite action on the test processes and ensure the deployment of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), the union’s preferred alternative for the payment of salaries in the university system.
He said the integrity test on UTAS was at the last stage now.
In addition, he said that ASUU expected the government to fast-track the FG-ASUU renegotiation to ensure its conclusion within the timelines agreed by both parties.
Ogunyemi said, “ASUU has undertaken to go back to classrooms, laboratories to do our best for our students and our country. We are going back to rekindle the motivation and aspirations in our members to strive to encourage our students to excel, all in expectations that governments, both federal and states, will sincerely fullfil their own part of the bargain.”
He listed some of the key demands tabled by ASUU, and which ignited the current strike, to include funding for revitalisation of public university infrastructure, earned academic allowances, withheld salaries, proliferation of state universities, visitation panels, reconstitution of the government re-negotiation team and the replacement of IPPIS with UTAS.
Ngige, also giving an insight into the agreement with the union, said ASUU accepted that lecturers would do extra time to recover the lost ground.
He said, “The Senate of the universities can arrange for virtual teaching to commence in the first week of January, next year. It is a win-win situation for everybody.
“We want to congratulate all Nigerians the parents, the National Assembly and ASUU for the resolution of the dispute. For both sides, it’s a conditional foothold because while the Federal Government pledged to fulfil its part, ASUU also promised to do extra work so that lost time would be recovered . They also pledged in the agreement to do virtual teaching.”
He also spoke on the amount released to ASUU and the universities under the agreement, saying the FG had approved the release of N40 billion for earned allowances to all categories of staff in the universities.
“It is not money for dash; the university vice chancellors will scrutinise the process and ensure that only staff that merited to be paid are allowed to partake in it,” he added
Ngige, however, said the government would release N30 billion revitalisation fund to the universities by January, adding that government would not give ASUU any excuse to go on strike again.
He promised to ensure the government keep its part of the agreement.
News
Yahaya Bello: American school returns $720,000 advance tuition fees, gives reasons
Yahaya Bello: American school returns $720,000 advance tuition fees, gives reasons
The American International School, Abuja, on Saturday, provided additional information and context to clarify the issues around its decision to transfer the school fees paid by former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Contrary to some media reports suggesting that the institution was still in the process of turning over the funds, the statement clarified that it had actually done so, as recently confirmed by the EFCC Chairman.
In a brief statement signed by Head of School, Greg Hughes, the international co-educational institution, which was established in 1993, stated that “our compliance to remit these funds underscores our commitment to upholding institutional integrity and our respect for the national institutions of Nigeria”.
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It explained further: “Upon learning that the school fees we accepted in good faith were, in fact, part of an ongoing case with the EFCC, we turned over these funds in compliance with this federal commission’s request.”
The statement did not name Bello directly but the reference to “a family with children enrolled at the school” was clear enough in the light of recent media reports.
Citing the subjudice status of the issue as a result of the ongoing case between the EFCC and Bello, the school averred that “we will refrain from making any further comments at this time.”
Yahaya Bello: American school returns $720,000 advance tuition fees, gives reasons
News
NAFDAC seals 50 Kaduna shops selling cooking oil in dirty environment
NAFDAC seals 50 Kaduna shops selling cooking oil in dirty environment
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has shut down 50 outlets in Kaduna State due to the sale of edible oil in unhygienic conditions.
The action was taken as part of a sensitization workshop aimed at educating dealers on Registration Procedures and Food Management. This information was shared in a statement released on the agency’s official handle on Saturday.
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The statement partly read, “NAFDAC has sealed fifty outlets in Kaduna for dispensing edible oil under unhygienic conditions, aiming to prevent potential health risks associated with contamination.
“The Director, North-West Zonal Office, Mrs. Josephine Dayilim highlighted the dangers of consuming oil processed in unsanitary environments, emphasising the risks of food poisoning, gastroenteritis, and even cancer due to inadequate processing and corrosive equipment.”
News
Japa: 72,000 doctors dumped Nigeria last year, says MDCN report
Japa: 72,000 doctors dumped Nigeria last year, says MDCN report
The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria has expressed concern over the detrimental impact of medical practitioners emigrating abroad in search of better opportunities, revealing that 72,000 out of 130,000 registered doctors failed to renew their practice licenses in 2023.
The MDCN highlighted that only a meager 58,000 have renewed their licenses, emphasizing that such a trend will not only strain healthcare services but also overwhelm the limited available personnel.
Dr. Fatima Kyari, the Registrar of the body, conveyed these sentiments on Friday during the induction and oath-taking ceremony of 20 newly qualified doctors at the Edo State University, Uzairue.
“The council has so far registered 130,000 medical doctors to practice in Nigeria since its inception 61 years ago and the council is mandated to regulate the practice of medicine, dental, and alternative medicine in Nigeria.
“But only 58,000 doctors have renewed their annual practising license in the year 2023 following the increase in migration of doctors outside the country,
“However, the doctors must meet the requirements to earn those increases in quota. We will partner with them to ensure that they meet those requirements, and as we try to ensure that, standards must be upheld,” he added.
Kyari, who was represented by the Deputy Registrar Dr Victor Kolawole, noted that the induction of the 20 newly qualified doctors would add to the existing workforce in the health sector which is being depleted by the day.
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She, however, admonished the inductees to uphold the ethics of the profession, warning that the council is mandated to regulate the activities of the practitioners as well as punish offenders.
The institution’s Vice Chancellor, Prof Emmanuel Aluyor, while speaking, explained that the upgrade of the Central Hospital, Auchi to a teaching hospital has enhanced facilities for the training of the medical students and uplifting the standard of healthcare services in Edo North and its environs.
While commended Governor Godwin Obaseki for his unwavering support for the university, he enjoined the inductees to uphold the ethics of the profession, saying he is confident that they would bring honour to the institution and MDCN.
“I urge the state government to sustain efforts towards improving facilities at Edo State University Teaching Hospital, Auchi.”
However, the acting Provost, of the College of Medical Sciences, Dr Kenneth Atoe, said 20 medical graduates from the college are the second batch of Batch B inductees.
He advised the newly qualified medical graduates to uphold the ethical standards of a medical professional, saying, “You must internalise the values of honesty, integrity, and selflessness.
“These virtues are not only essential for building strong doctor-patient relationships but are also integral to upholding the ethical standards and trustworthiness expected of a medical professional.
“By embodying these values, doctors not only fulfil their professional obligations but also contribute to the maintenance of public trust in the medical profession.”
Japa: 72,000 doctors dumped Nigeria last year, says MDCN report
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