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Nigerian university staff to embark on indefinite strike
File Photo The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) have disclosed that they will be embarking on “an indefinite, comprehensive and total strike” from February 5th. The Joint Action Committee of both unions, disclosed this while addressing reporters in a press conference on Friday. The committee explained that it is giving the Government two weeks till February 5th to address its demands, else the industrial action will commence. The unions had embarked on a fourteen day warning strike between 5th and 19th of October 2020 in protest of a number of issues bordering on the welfare of their members. The warning strike culminated the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the 20t...
Ex-Nigerian ambassador Bolere Ketebu passes on
Dr. Bolere Elizabeth Ketebu, former Nigerian Ambassador to Ireland is dead. She was 66 years old. Her death was made known by President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday. In a statement, Buhari condoled with the Ketebu family, the Bayelsa State government, as well as friends and professional colleagues of Dr Bolere Ketebu, The President said the former ambassador served her country creditably in several capacities. She was at one time President National Council of Women Societies, Secretary to Bayelsa State government and a member House of Representatives between 1992 and 1993. In September 2001, she was elected Advisor, Habitat to the International Council of Women (ICW). She was elected in 2003 as International Board Member to ICW, position she held till 2009. As a board member, she coordinated...
WhatsApp delays data sharing change after backlash
WhatsApp on Friday postponed a data-sharing change as users concerned about privacy fled the Facebook-owned messaging service and flocked to rivals Telegram and Signal. The smartphone app, a huge hit across the world, cancelled its February 8 deadline for accepting an update to its terms concerning sharing data with Facebook, saying it would use the pause to clear up misinformation around privacy and security. “We’ve heard from so many people how much confusion there is around our recent update,” WhatsApp said in a blog post. “This update does not expand our ability to share data with Facebook.” It said it would instead “go to people gradually to review the policy at their own pace before new business options are available on May 15.” The update concerns how merchants using WhatsApp to cha...
Signal outage keeps messages from sending
If you’re having trouble sending messages in the secure messaging app Signal, it may be due to technical difficulties the company says are affecting the app on Friday. Signal allows for secure and encrypted video, voice, and text communication, but users were greeted this morning with messages that failed to send. Signal confirmed the issue on its official Twitter account with the promise that it would “restore service as quickly as possible.” Signal is experiencing technical difficulties. We are working hard to restore service as quickly as possible. — Signal (@signalapp) January 15, 2021 In the last week, Signal reported a surge of new users to its app following a recommendation from Tesla CEO Elon Musk and a new WhatsApp privacy policy that may have driven users away from the Facebook-o...
Ekiti imposes curfew, bans public gathering of more than twenty
In a bid time curtail the spread of the second wave of Covid-19 in Ekiti, the state Government on Sunday imposed a curfew from 8.00 pm to 6.00 am. The Government also banned all gatherings of more than twenty people in the state until further notice. The Commissioner for Information and Values Orientation, Hon Akinbowale Omole, who announced these new guidelines in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday, said the restrictions take effect Monday at 6 am January 11, 2021. Omole cited the alarming rate at which the deadly pandemic is spreading in Nigeria and elsewhere as the reason for these drastic steps. He said there is a need for the government to be proactive and take decisive steps to secure the citizens from falling prey to the second wave of the pandemic that has claimed thousands of lives all over the ...
PDP hails court verdict on Governor Obaseki’s case as triumph of justice
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Saturday described as a triumph of justice, the Federal High Court, Abuja, ruling on the alleged certificate forgery case against the Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki. The court had on Saturday morning dismissed the case filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) against the governor for lack of merit. Justice Ahmed Mohammed, who delivered judgment in the case, said APC could not prove its claim that Obaseki forged his academic certificates submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the September 19, 2019 governorship election in the state. In its reaction to the ruling, the party in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the judgment was a seal on Obaseki’s landslide victory in...
Indonesian plane crashes after take-off with 62 aboard
A Sriwijaya Air plane crashed into the sea on Saturday minutes after taking off from Indonesia’s capital Jakarta. The plane was on a domestic flight with 62 people on board and their fate was not known. The Boeing 737-500, en route to Pontianak in West Kalimantan, disappeared from radar screens after taking off just after 2.30 p.m. (0730 GMT) – 30 minutes after the scheduled time because of heavy rain. Indonesian Transport Minister, Budi Karya, told a news conference that 62 people had been aboard Flight SJ 182, including 12 crew. The detik.com website quoted him as saying the plane crashed near Laki Island, some 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the airport. Rescue agency Basarnas said in a statement it would send a team to the Thousand Islands area to help in the search for victims “after th...
NANS: Nigerian government’s 2021 budget for education worst in 10 years
The President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Com. Sunday Asefon, has frowned at the 2021 budgetary provision for education under President Muhammadu Buhari, describing it as the worst in the last ten years in the country. Disturbed by the neglect of the education sector, which was apportioned with a paltry of 5.6 percent in the 2021 budget and the high level of insecurity in the country, NANS has planned to organise a Security and Education Summit to partner stakeholders on how to arrest the drift in the two critical sectors Asefon said this in Ado-Ekiti, on Thursday, during a courtesy visit to the office of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Correspondents’ Chapel, Ekiti chapter. He said: “I condemn totally, the federal government’s 2021 budgetary provision to edu...
Ekiti governor mourns Prof. Ibidapo-Obe
Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has described the death of the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe, as a great loss to Nigeria. Prof Ibidapo-Obe died on January 3 after a brief illness. He was aged 71. Governor Fayemi, in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Yinka Oyebode, in Ado-Ekiti, on Tuesday, said the news of Prof Ibidapo-Obe’s death was received with shock and disbelief since the late Vice Chancellor did not show any signs of illness during their last meeting. The governor, who is an alumnus of the University of Lagos, described the late Prof Ibidapo-Obe as a distinguished scholar and seasoned administrator who excelled in every assignment he undertook, adding that he demonstrated his commitment to excellence during his stint as...
FCT chief judge bows out service
The Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Justice Ishaq Usman Bello, on Tuesday bowed out of service on the attainment of 65 years of age. This is even as he declared in his speech at a valedictory court session held in his honour that the greatest strength of the judiciary remained the trust, reliance and faith of the people in it. Bello, who became the FCT CJ on May 28, 2015, said that in a democratic set up like Nigeria’s, the judiciary had to be impartiality. “I solemnly accept as true the saying that the greatest strength of the judiciary is the trust, reliance and faith of the people in it. “In several cases, I have seen the court take decisions against the state as well for the achievement of the ends of justice. I know this well because I have delivered some myself,” ...
World Bank predicts 4% global economic growth, 1.1% for Nigeria in 2021
ABS-CBN The World Bank says global economy is expected to grow by 4 per cent in 2021, assuming an initial COVID-19 vaccine rollout becomes widespread throughout the year. It said this in a statement issued in Washington D.C. on Tuesday at the presentation of the January 2021 Global Economic Prospects. It added that the said recovery would likely be subdued unless policy makers moved decisively to tame the pandemic and implement investment-enhancing reforms. The bank also said that growth in Sub-Saharan Africa was forecast to rebound moderately to 2.7 per cent in 2021, while Nigeria’s growth was expected to resume at 1.1 per cent. For the region, it said that while the recovery in private consumption and investment was forecast to be slower than previously envisioned, export growth was expe...
National park trains 1,200 officers on combat readiness
Dr. Ibrahim Goni, the Conservator-General of the National Park Service, says the agency has trained 1,200 officers on basic combat readiness paramilitary by the Nigeria Army. Goni, who disclosed this at a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja, said that the training was to help the officers and men to meet the current and future conservation requirements. “Training and re-training of officers is key to achieving success in the implementation of the service mandate. “Therefore, manpower development as a human capital function is responsible for developing the skills, knowledge and competence of the service,” he said. Goni said that the agency would focus more on manpower development to help the officers and men achieve the mandate of the service. He said that in spite of its limited resources...
