NEWS MIRROR

In a twist of turn, the Federal Government is seeking legal means to end the over seven months strike action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities ( ASUU) to resume its seven months old strike.  The government has taken the matter to the National Industrial Court of Nigeria ( NICN) in order to compel  lecturers to resume duty, following the failure of the dialogue between it and ASUU. The government through the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, Nigerian University Commission ( NUC),  Professor Shehu Galandachi,ASUU's President, Prof Emmanuel Osodekeand other stakeholders, have held meetings to end the prolonged strike action, to no avail. A statement by the Head, Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mr Sunday Olagunju, confirmed the legal action against the lecturers. The statement, which was issued in Abuja, on Sunday, noted that the referral instrument was addressed to the Registrar of NICN and

By Akinola Ajibade Ikeja Electric,is seeking support of stakeholders to tackle rising cases of energy theft and vandalism in its network. The firm said that cases of illegal connections, meter bypass, apathy to payment of electricity bills and vandalism have been alarming in recent times, with the adverse effects on the consumers and the company's funds. According to Head Corporate Communications, Ikeja Electric, Mr Felix Ofulue, the issue is causing untold problems to the organisation, which has to look for funds to improve operations. While conveying  his company’s request at a gathering of community media publishers in Lagos, Ofolue lamented the alarming cases of illegal connections, meter bypass, apathy to payment of electricity bills and vandalism have been on a steady rise recently. He narrated instances where customers using prepaid meters connive with electricians to bypass meters with the aim of evading payment for energy consumed. “Despite the company’s huge i

By Favour Ajibade No fewer than says 700,000 people commit  suicide  annually across the world, the country' representative of World Health Organisation  (WHO) Mr Walter Kazkadi has said. He spoke at the 2022 World Suicide Prevention Day recently in Nigeria.  This year theme is: " Creating Hope Through Action and serve as a reminder that there is an alternative to suicide". Kazkadi said that the theme aspires to inspire confidence and light in all of us, adding that the theme aims to inspire individuals to be in charge of their lives and further value themselves. He said one can create hope for the suicide bound people by highlighting the importance of setting suicide prevention as a priority for public agenda for countries globally. According to him, 77 per cent of all global suicides occurring in low-and-middle-income countries, adding that for every suicide, there is  likely 20 other people making a suicide attempt and many more have serious tho

By Favour Ajibade No fewer than says 700,000 people commit  suicide  annually across the world, the country' representative of World Health Organisation  (WHO) Mr Walter Kazkadi has said. He spoke at the 2022 World Suicide Prevention Day recently in Nigeria.  This year theme is: " Creating Hope Through Action and serve as a reminder that there is an alternative to suicide". Kazkadi said that the theme aspires to inspire confidence and light in all of us, adding that the theme aims to inspire individuals to be in charge of their lives and further value themselves. He said one can create hope for the suicide bound people by highlighting the importance of setting suicide prevention as a priority for public agenda for countries globally. According to him, 77 per cent of all global suicides occurring in low-and-middle-income countries, adding that for every suicide, there is  likely 20 other people making a suicide attempt and many more have serious tho

Above: Osifo Below: Drums of stolen crude oil  By Favour Ajibade Oil workers are organising rally against crude oil theft nationwide, with a view to help tackle the illicit act, which has left in its wake both economic and environmental effects on Nigeria. The workers, under the aegis of Petroleum and Senior Natural Gas Association of Nigeria, are leveraging on the rally to drum up more supports against crude oil theft , which is having delibitating effects on the government's earnings, as well produ of  crude oil.  This happens as the government recently took some measures to tackle the menace.  These  include engagement of security agencies to guard the  pipelines, regulatory bodies and captains of industry to help tackle incidence of crude thefts through policies and among other intervention programmes. According to the PENGASSAN's President, Comrade  Festus Osifo, $1billion worth of oil is shut in on daily basis, as a result of crude theft. While eng

Aerial view of Iseyin,  Residents of Ijaye, Ido, Olowo-Igbo, Iseyin and Ibarapa all in Oyo state, should desist from drinking contaminated water around them, the state's Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Abiodun Oni, has said.  He spoke in Ibadan, the state capital, while enlightening indigenes on the dangers of drinking unsafe water as well as using it for other domestic activities. According to him, a truck conveying chemical substances recently emptied its content into a drainage that was eventually washed into the streams passing through the five communities  The truck, Oni said, was involved in an accident at Iroko-Oyo highway, while conveying substances presumed to be soap making chemicals. Continuing further, he said that the soap making chemicals which fell off into the drainage ended up contaminating the streams passing through the five communities, hence the need to warn residents against drinking the water. He advised farmers who planted

Yemi Esan By Akinola Ajibade The  Federal Government may klacklist insurance companies over irregular payment of death benefits to civil servants, the Head of Service of the Federation, Dr Folshade Yemi-Esan has said. She said the firms are showing laickadaisical to the payment of civil servants' benefits, adding  that the government would not continue to tolerate their actions, unless they change. She spoke during the meeting with underwriters of the Group Life Insurance for Federal Civil Servants in Abuja. Accorfing to her, the government is improving the welfare of the families of the deceased workers by releasing funds in order to pay their benefits,  querying such insurance firms for not doing their job as at when due. Such actions, Yemi-Esan, said are not acceptable and should be corrected in the interest of the affected families. According to her, the meeting with underwriters was necessary in order to bridge the gap  existing  between the them  and brokers, beca

By Favour Ajibade Nigeria's crude oil production level for September and October this year are 1,830million barrels per day and 1,826 million barrels per day respectively, says, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). This was revealed at the meeting held yesterday by OPEC, At the meeting, the production level for August and October for OPEC and Non- OPEC participating countries remains unchanged. The cartel, however, stated that its upward adjustment of 0.1 million barrel per day (mb/d) to the overall oil production level is only intended for September 2022. In its report at the 32nd OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting held via video conference yesterday ( Monday), the organisation approved upward adjustment of overall production for August 2022 by 0.648 mb/d. The meeting decried adverse impact of volatility and the decline in liquidity on the current oil market and the need to support the market’s stability and its efficient functioning. It said th

Above: CBN's Headquarters Below: Forex  By Akinola Ajibade Inability of the Central Bankk of Nigeria ( CBN) to resume sales of foreign exchange (forex) to the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria(ABCON) was caused by some prominent Nigerians and their collaborators, known as economic agents, a member of the Monetary Policy Committee ( MPC), Mr Mike Obadan has said. CBN's Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, announced immediate discontinuance of sales to Bureaux de Change operators (BDCs) on July 29, 2021, due to what he describes as illicit flow of forex and its associated crimes in the country. He, however, refused to mention the names of Nigerians engaging in such bad practices, for reasons, which may not be unconnected to pervading level of insecurity, bad governance among others, in the country.  He said despite uncertainty in the system,  untoward practices such as hoarding of the currency is a major problem bedevilling the industry. “Hoard

Oil spill in Ijaw, Delta State By Favour Ajibade Shell Petroleum Development of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) is waiting for the Joint Investigative Team( JIT) to unravel the actual cause of the spill from its Diebu Creek flow station in the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, its spokesman, Michael Adande has said. The spill occurred on the Shell assets on August 24, this year. He said this, in a statement made available to the media recently, that the outcome of the JIT would enable Shell to know the real cause of the spill,  volume of crude oil spilled and the impacts on the environment.  The International Oil Company set up the team, in order to investigate all environmental degradations, brought about by oil spills in the Niger Delta region and to further convince the  inhabitants, mostly farmers and fishermen respectively they were not neglected in any way. Through the spill, Akande said, a large volume of crude oil was discharged into the ecosystem of Peremabiri community,

By Favour  Ajibade Ikeja Electric is working seamlessly to improve supply of electricity to consumers in its network, not planning to throw them into darkness. The firm, in a statement issued to the News Mirror and signed by its Head of Corporate Communications, Mr Felix Ofolue, describes the  plans that the energy distribution outfit, is planning blackout in Lagos, as a figment of imagination. He said the story, which emanted in section of the media recently was s figment of imagination, stressing that the company, rather is replacing obsolete equipment in its jurisdiction, in order to improve supply of electricity. According to him, Ikeja Electric has just completed projects  maintenance in Alimosho among other communities under its jurisdiction. Ofolue asked: " How can we be replacing obsolete equipment and at the same time, putting millions of customers in darkness. Is that not contradictory?  What we have done is to improve power supply in Igando and the firm has

Twenty out of thirty states in Nigeria are going to  experience floods  this September, the General Manager, Nigerian Meteorological Agency NiMet's, Mr Mubtari Yusuf, has said  The states include Lagos, Ondo, Kano Adamawa, Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Cross-River, Imo, Enugu, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Ekiti, Abia and Rivers. Others are Borno, Bauchi, Taraba,Kebi, Jigawa , Bayelsa, all in the North East, North West and South- South region. In a statement, Yusuf said that there may be possible flooding in some states that have experienced high amount of rainfall in July and August this year. According to him, NiMet has listed states that are prone to  flooding greatly in  September, with a view to warn Nigerians on the dangers of such environmental hazards. It said:”Based on the rainfall distribution and rainfall amounts recorded in the country during the month of August, 2022, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMet, has warned of possible flooding in some states that have experienced high amount of

By Akinola Ajibade Nigeria's spiralling inflationary rates, high cost of energy and exchange rates have combined together to impact on banking operations in the country, it was learnt.  The situation is so bad that, according to reliable sources, that banks are reducing their work hours, a development, which ultimately may lead to job's cut in the industry. One of the banks, Access Bank, in a notification titled ‘Adjusted Closing Time for Select Branches’ to its esteemed customers has listed 83 branches in different states where its shut doors to customers at 3 pm instead of 4 pm. The bank urged customers to consider processing most of their transactions via its digital channels. “You can simply process most of your transactions via our digital channels, as a few of our Access Bank branches nationwide will be closed at 3 pm from the 29th of August, 2022,” the bank stated. The bank said, while some of its branches will continue to operate between 8 am and 4 pm, its e

By Akinola Ajibade A female baby operator said that she has made at least N1.2 million from the selling three babies to her customers. The operator, Christiana D'Ivoire Iyama made the confession  during her arrest, by policemen attached to Agbado Divisional Headquarters, Ogun state. Arrested alongside at her residence in No 4, Ibrahim Famuyiwa Street Agbado, Iyama said that she has sold three babies at N1.2million.  Arrested alongside her partner in crimes, Margaret Ogwu, she confessed to selling a baby for N400,000. Ogwu was a product of baby factory, as she and other girls were harboured by Christiana, who arranged men to impregnate them one after the other. In a release issued by the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, Iyana and Ogw were operating baby factory at the former's residence in Agbado area of Ogun state. The release number is AZ:5310/OGS/PRO/VOL.7/148. 05/09/2022. The statement further said that the two female baby factory operators were ar

Nigeria may witness another fuel scarcity in the next few days, if the warning strike of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) is anything to go by. This is coming on the heels of the announcement by the Chairman, Suleja Depot of IPMAN, Alhaji Yahaya Alhassan, that fuel otherwise known as Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) would be scarce in some states in the country. He listed the states to include Kaduna, Nassarawa, Kogi, Niger among others. Federal Capital Territory ( Abuja), he said, is going to be affected, stating the association is planning to start a there-day warning strike, which may spread to other parts of the country, if urgent steps are not taking to halt it  Alhassan said that plans at advanced stage to stop the supply of petroleum products to stop supply fuel from its depots to outlets owned by members. While taking reporters round the packed trucks in the depot at Maje, Suleja in Niger State, Alhasssan said the non-payment of N50billio

:Above: IBEDC headquarters in Ibadan; Below: Ancient city of Ile-Ife  By Akinola Ajibade Residentss in the ancient city of Ile-Ife were filled with excitements, as the management and staff of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) provided them with pre-paid meters recently. Consumers of electricity in areas such as Lagere, Sabo, Fajuyi, Moore, Enuwa, Ondo Road, Mayfair, Eleyele, Parakin and Modakeke, were full of joy, as the crew members of IBEDC went round the town to issue meters, as well as registering the names of new applicants of the product. Prior to the tour of the above mentioned areas,  IBEDC has  launched a 24-hour mobile application to enable customers in the area access electricity without stress. Its Business Manager in the city, Mr Olumide Akinradewo, said the initiative would help to address the lingering meter deficit in the area for optimum performance. “We have more than enough meters that would go round our customers within Ile-Ife

By Akinola Ajibade The Deep-Water operations of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo) is one of the best, the General Manager, National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Mr Bala Wunti has said.  NAPIMS is the investment arm of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC). He gave this commendation when he led his leadership team on an inspection of the SNEPCo-operated Bonga Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel last Thursday. “One of the best companies on planet earth is called Shell,” Wunti said, adding that NAPIMS would enhance the provision of accommodation  for SNEPCo’s offshore personnel and further help in reducing the time for the planned Turn Around Maintenance of the 225,000 barrels per day capacity vessel. This, he said, would reduce the production shutdown period. According to Wunti, challenge in the area of personnel on board of FPSO is a problem across the industry. He said that the

As part of efforts to end almost seven months strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities ( ASUU), the National Universities Commission ( NUC) is planning to hold a meeting with the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu, at its headquarters in Abuja. Others expected at  the meeting are Pro-Vice Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors of the Federal universities respectively. The meeting is fixed Tuesday, September, this year. According to NUC Executive Secretary, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, the commission invited the pro-chancellors and their vice-chancellors to a meeting with the minister to seek solution to the crisis. He said the pro-chancellors and their vice-chancellors are expected to meet with the minister, to deliberate on issues concerning the ongoing ASUU strike and has sent an invitation letter to the relevant stakeholders. The letter is titled: “Industrial actions by university-based unions: Invitation to a special interactive meeting with the Honourable Minister of

By Akinola Ajibade Two vigilantes were cooling down their feet in police custody for raping an house wife in Ganjuwa Local Government Area, Bauchi State recently. They are Lawali Sule, aged 30; and Babangida Shehu, aged 30 respectively. According to the state Police Public Relations Officer, Supretendent Ahmed Wakali, the two local security operatives were arrested, after storming  the house of One Alhaji Gare armed with Dane-Gun and broke into his wife bedroom, one Hadiza Alhaji( not real name) and asked for the whereabout of her husband.  Unfortunately, her husband was not at home, a development, which strengthening their resolve to rape the woman. Wakili said: “On 25th August, 2022, at about 0200hours the two suspects conspired among themselves and stormed the house of one Alhaji Gare, all armed with Dane-gun broke into his wife’s room one Hadiza Alhaji (not real name) and asked her husband we’re about, but he was not at home. He added: “Thereafter they threatened her with a gun wit