President Bola Tinubu has approved the partial waiver of the “No Work, No Pay” order preferred against the members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). 

ASUU commenced an eight-month strike on February 14, 2022, and ended the industrial action on October 17, 2022. The then President, Muhammadu Buhari, had invoked the ‘no work, no pay’ to compel the university teachers to return to their classrooms. Since then, the lecturers have yet to be paid during the period of the strike.

However, respite came for the lecturers on Friday as presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, saying a partial waiver has been given over the order.

Ajuri said the waiver “will allow for the previously striking members of ASUU to receive four months of salary accruals out of the eight months of salary which was withheld during the eight-month industrial action undertaken by the union”.

He said Tinubu invoked the Principle of the Presidential Prerogative of Mercy, seeking to “mitigate the difficulties being felt during the implementation of key economic reforms in the country, as well as his recognition of the faithful implementation of terms which were agreed upon during the deliberations between ASUU and the Federal Government of Nigeria”.

Tinubu approved the grant of the waiver with a mandatory requirement that the Federal Ministry of Education and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment must secure a Document of Understanding establishing that this exceptional waiver granted by the President will be the last one to be granted to ASUU and all other education sector unions.

Doyin Odebowale, the Special Adviser on Special Duty and Strategy to Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, says his principal is not working from the capital Akure due to accommodation challenges. 

Akeredolu has been absent from the state since his return from a medical vacation abroad. While the Ondo leader is working from Ibadan, Oyo State, the move has caused ripples within the state with the youths of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday issuing an ultimatum to the governor to return.

Odebowale said due to Governor Akeredolu‘s state of health, he needs a better apartment to carry out his task of marshalling the affairs of the South-West state.

“Aketi came back in September. Where he used to stay – the Presidential Lodge built for the visiting president at that time Olusegun Obasanjo – is a two-bedroom apartment,” he said on the show.

“Now, he is back. He cannot occupy that place again. The Old Governor’s Office – the Governor’s Lodge built by the previous administration is now the office of the investment outlet called the ODIPA. That’s the office,” the governor’s aide added.

“So, the governor has been managing a two-bedroom apartment for six years. But his current state of health would not permit him to pretend that all is well. He would need all the things for him to recover properly. That’s why the new place that is being arranged for him is almost completed.”

He wondered why critics want his principal back in the state, maintaining that governance has been going on smoothly despite Akeredolu not being physically present in Ondo State.

“When they say they want to see Aketi, do they want to see him at the site so that he would be carrying cement or following workmen? What exactly? The civil servants have been paid all their salaries. Aketi has been signing laws since he came back,” he maintained.

Akeredolu’s aide claims the recent ripples over the Ondo governor’s absence show he (Aketi) is “surrounded by enemies from within. Even his family”.

The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority has impounded 18 trucks at Apapa, Lagos State.

The agency’s Public Relations Officer, Adebayo Taofiq said the removal of the abandoned trucks followed the expiration of a removal order issued to the owners.

He said, 18 trucks had been evacuated. Before you can evacuate those trucks at that axis, you will spend nothing less than two hours or one hour evacuating each truck. Some of our men have started the evacuation process again.

 “The vehicles that were impounded are in our custody currently and the drivers will be charged in court. Also, the exercise will continue. This process will help to warn other truck drivers against unlawful parking.

Lagos State Government in conjunction with the Nigerian Ports Authority and the Nigeria Police Force commenced operations to remove unlawfully parked and abandoned trailers at the Apapa area.

The General Manager, LASTMA, Bolaji Oreagba, noted that seminars would be arranged to warn truck drivers against indiscriminate parking of vehicles on Lagos roads.

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, has pleaded with Nigerians to exercise patience with President Bola Tinubu’s administration given the current economic situation.

The Ooni made the appeal during the visitation to his family compound as part of activities to mark the grand finale of the Olojo Annual Festival in the Oketase area, Ile-Ife on Monday.

The monarch admitted that Nigeria is currently at its trial period when the citizens are facing a lot of challenges in all ramifications of life.

“I know that people are passing through difficult periods in which they are not finding life easy and truly this is a challenging period.

“But I know that after this festival, normalcy will return to the country, as the problems we’re facing will soon come to an end,” he stated.

The royal father admonished all and sundry to endure more and ensure their support for their leaders, saying by doing this, there would be great achievements.

“We are almost getting there, for gold has to pass through fire before becoming shining.  Government alone cannot do it without the cooperation of the masses.

“Therefore, let all hands be on deck for a tree cannot make a forest, neither any nation can get to his promised land without the contribution of the generality”, Oba Ogunwusi stated.

NAN

A man said to be the pastor of Dunamis Church located at Mission Ward North Bank in Makurdi, Benue State capital was reported to have died on Monday when the church building collapsed.

According to an eyewitness, four others said to be praying with the pastor in the church sustained varying degrees of injury after the building collapsed on them.

He said, “As soon as we heard the collapse of the building, we rushed to the place in an attempt to rescue them. It took some minutes before we could rescue the victims.

“Meanwhile, four people were injured and one person we later understand to be the pastor was found dead,”  the eyewitness who identified himself as Nath told our correspondent.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Bartholomew Onyeka, confirmed the incident to journalists on Tuesday.

He said, “Something like that happened, just one person died in the process.

“You know when debris falls on people like that, the immediate reaction is what happens to the victims. So, people who rushed there were able to rescue four people; unfortunately, one person died. The injured persons are responding to treatment in a hospital where they were taken to,” he said.