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Fed govt to build modern hostels in 36 tertiary institutions
Fed govt to build modern hostels in 36 tertiary institutions
The federal government through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has kick-started the process of constructing state-of-the-art hostels in 36 tertiary institutions.
This is even as the government indicated its willingness to construct more hostel accommodations once these first sets are completed.
Executive Secretary, TETFund, Sonny Echono stated this on Wednesday, March 20, when the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), led by its President, Comr. Lucky Emonefe visited the agency.
Reacting to the association’s call for the maintenance of TETFund projects in beneficiary institutions across the country and the construction of the NANS secretariat in Abuja, Echono pointed out that there was increased allocation for maintenance of TETFund infrastructures above five years in the 2024 intervention cycle.
On the request for a NANS secretariat, the agency boss promised to look into it and get the buy-in of the Ministry of Education.
He also disclosed that the intervention agency would work out modalities to incorporate the students’ body for joint monitoring of projects across beneficiary institutions.
Lamenting the increasing challenge of student housing in institutions of higher learning, the Executive Secretary said: “As I speak, this year, we shall be providing hostels for students in 36 tertiary institutions across the country. Because we realise that some of the places where our students live are so deplorable. And only about 15 percent of our students are staying on campus. Many of them are living outside campus, some of them can’t even come back for evening lectures because of the cost and the trouble of walking all the way and coming back. And there is also the security situation in their areas.
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“So we have a policy to ensure that as much as possible, we will do the minimum of 50 to 60 per cent of our students to live on campus. And provide those hostels. Those hostels will not be matchboxes and shanties. They will be solid buildings that can attract other students from anywhere in the world to compare with what other people enjoy when they leave Nigeria.”
He congratulated the national leadership on their successful election even as he applauded the body for its constructive engagements on issues.
Echono assured the NANS leadership that Nigerian students would continue to be at the centre of any project in tertiary institutions.
He also urged the students to on-board its digital services platform for tertiary institutions – Tertiary Education Research, Applications, and Services (TERAS).
This, he said, would address critical challenges faced by students, researchers, and institutions in accessing educational resources and research materials.
According to him, other services such as sponsored mobile internet access, EagleScan for plagiarism checking, aggregated journal and research subscription inclusive of EBSCO, Blackboard Learning Management System, digital literacy, and intervention funding are available to both public and private tertiary institutions in the country.
“We will continue to support NANS, and partner with NANS because there is no doubt that in any policy, programme, or project that you want to do in the education sector, students must be at the centre of it. Higher institutions exist because of students,” he stated.
Emonefe said the visit was to formally introduce the new leadership of the association to TETFund management as well as work out areas of collaboration.
Citing the increase in TETFund’s 2024 budget and the new Students’ Loan Bill currently before the National Assembly, the NANS President applauded President Bola Tinubu for his “love and commitment to the upliftment of education in Nigeria.”
He also lauded the TETFund boss for throwing his weight behind the bill at the just concluded public hearing on the proposed legislation.
Emonefe said: “We are not going to relent. We are going to complement your efforts to ensure that these gigantic projects that TETFund is ensuring in our tertiary institutions. On our part, we are going to monitor, supervise and protect the education infrastructure to complement the efforts of Mr President and TETFund.”
A member of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TetFund and lawmaker representing Delta North Senatorial District, Senator Ned Nwoko was part of the engagement.
Senator Nwoko joined the TETFund management to receive the NANS leadership even as he pledged the support of the committee to Nigerian students.
Fed govt to build modern hostels in 36 tertiary institutions
News
Judicial Reform: NBA seeks removal of CJN as head of NJC
Judicial Reform: NBA seeks removal of CJN as head of NJC
The Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, has faulted the composition of the National Judicial Council, NJC, which is the body responsible for disciplining erring judicial officers in the country.
NBA, which is the umbrella body of legal practitioners in the country faulted the current system that made it mandatory that the Council must be headed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN.
According to the NBA, “The inherent flaws in the composition of the NJC impact negatively on its ability to prosecute judicial misconduct in a manner that inspires public confidence.”
Consequently, the NBA recommended that “members of the NJC should be appointed as follows: six judicial officers appointed by CJN; six lawyers nominated by the National Executive Council of the NBA including the NBA President and six non lawyers appointed by the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, subject to the approval of the Senate.
“The Chairmanship of these bodies should be rotated between the heads of the three constituent groups.”
Besides, the NBA recommended the appointment of court administrators to take over the administrative functions if the various Heads of court such as procurement, budgeting, renovation of courts and implementation of judicial appropriations.
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“These are activities within court administration that have severally been identified by the anti-corruption bodies as areas prone to corrupt activities.
“This proposal for the creation of this office takes cognizance of the role of the Chief Registrars of courts who will under the proposed arrangements enable them (together with heads of courts) concentrate solely on the business of adjudication especially case management without distraction.”
It further demanded the de-linking of judicial remuneration from that of the civil service, noting that there had always been an informal linkage between judicial salaries and that of senior civil servants and public officers.
“There is the need to de-link judicial remuneration from that of the civil/public service. De-linking judicial remuneration from that of the civil/public service would not only strengthen the perception of judicial independence, but would also provide the necessary safeguard and reassurance to judicial officers,” it added.
The recommendations were contained in proposals the NBA submitted at the just concluded national summit on justice sector reforms.
News
Yahaya Bello: Court summons EFCC chair over contempt
Yahaya Bello: Court summons EFCC chair over contempt
A Kogi State high court has ordered Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, to appear before it on May 13 to show why he should not be convicted for allegedly disobeying its order.
The presiding judge, Isa Jamil Abdullahi, gave the order on Friday while ruling in a suit No: HCL/68M/2024 and motion No: HCL/190M/2024, filed by former Kogi governor, Yahaya Bello.
Bello on February 8, Bello instituted a suit asking the court to restrain the commission from arresting him.
The court granted the injunction restraining the EFCC on February 9.
But the EFCC on March 12 filed an appeal against the order.
However, the commission has filed a notice to withdraw the appeal.
In the notice filed on April 22, the anti-graft agency said the withdrawal was predicated on the fact that events had overtaken the appeal.
The commission also admitted that the appeal was filed out of the time allowed by law.
Bello approached the court again, praying for an order to invite the EFCC chairman and slammed with a contempt of court allegation.
The judge granted Bello’s prayers and ordered Olukoyede to appear before the court to answer the contempt charge.
“The applicant’s application before me is to the effect that the respondent has carried out some acts upon which they have been restrained by this court on February 9, pending the determination of the substantive motion on notice before this court,” the judge held.
“That the said act was carried out by the respondent in violation of the order which was valid and subsisting when they carried out those acts. That same act of the respondent amounts to an act of contempt.
“It’s against the above facts that this court hereby grants the prayers sought in line with the principle of ‘Audi Ultra Patem’ (listen to the other side).
“This matter is adjourned to May 13 for the respondent’s chairman to appear before this court in answer to form 49 ordered to be served on him.”
News
Labour shuts NSITF head office over staff salary cut
Labour shuts NSITF head office over staff salary cut
Members of the organised labour, on Friday, protested and shut down the headquarters of Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) over alleged cut of workers’ salaries in the agency by the management of the fund.
The aggrieved protesters, led by the President of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo and executive members of the Association of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFE), started their demonstrations at about 11:00am.
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Armed with placards with various inscriptions, the protesters alleged that the management led by Mrs Maureen Allagoa, the Managing Director of the Fund, had made deductions of consequential taxes from their salaries to the tune of N2.1bn which were not remitted.
Addressing the protesters, Osifo said the protest and subsequent shutdown of the Fund became imperative after efforts made by the leadership of ASSBIFE to resolve the issue amicably with the management failed.
The protesters urged President Bola Tinubu to sack the MD of the agency with immediate effect to avert “looming crises” in the Fund and called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe their claims.
Both the MD of the Fund, Mrs Allagoa and spokesman of the Fund, Mr Godson Nwachukwu could not be reached for comments at the time of filing this report.
Labour shuts NSITF head office over staff salary cut
Why Yahaya Bello does not represent the youth – Farooq Kperogi
Judicial Reform: NBA seeks removal of CJN as head of NJC
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