ASUU Strike Update: NUT Gives Two-Week Ultimatum to FG, Lecturers

The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) gave a
two-week ultimatum to the Federal
Government and the Academic Staff Union
of Universities (ASUU) to resolve the strike,
embarked upon by university lecturers.



Mr. Michael Olukoya, the NUT President
stated this in Abuja at the end of the
Union’s meeting with teachers’
representatives across the country on
September 26, 2013, Thursday. Mr. Olukoya said that members of the
Union would not hesitate to close down the
nation’s schools, if the two parties failed to
reach agreement after two weeks. He described the current ASUU strike “as
nationalistic, patriotic and self-sacrificing”. “We will not hesitate to shut down the
education system in the country, if the
government fails to fulfil or honour the
agreement it entered into with the
lecturers.” It would be recalled that ASUU had
embarked on a strike it described as
“comprehensive, total and indefinite” on
July 1, 2013. The lecturers are protesting the non-
implementation of some issues, contained
in an agreement the Union had entered into
with the Federal Government since 2009. Teacher’s Issues The NUT President said that Gov. Adams
Oshiomhole of Edo’s call for a complete
over-haul of teachers’ qualification as
unacceptable to the NUT. He said that the
blame should be put on the door steps of
the employers and not teachers. “NUT will forever be proud of all its
teachers, believing that all employment
agencies are corruption-free, disciplined
and quality conscious in their employment
drives.” Mr. Olukoya also urged the governors of
Kogi, Benue and Cross River to honour the
agreement they made with teachers on the
payment of 27.5 per cent teachers salary
structure.

Minister: Abuja Was Planned Without Consideration For The Poor, Middle Class

The massive housing and transport
deficiencies associated with the Federal
Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja is as a
result of a wrong building process of the
nation’s capital, Minister of State for
Niger Delta Affairs, Darius Dickson Ishaku, said yesterday in Abuja. The minister, who was speaking at the
opening of Town Planners’ Day, said the
city was envisioned without putting into
consideration the poor and middle class
of society. “If I had the way, I would have first built
the mass transit system, the railway
before building the city,” he said. Minister of State for FCT, Mrs.
Olajumoke Akinjide said Abuja was
conceived to be an administrative place,
not for commercial or industrial
purpose. President of Nigerian Institute of Town
Planners (NITP), Steve Onu in his address
read by his deputy, Bulus Sachi,
lamented that the master plans for the
city have not been fully implemented.

Two Killed, One Injured In Abuja Building Collapse

No fewer than two persons were feared
dead in a building collapse on Tuesday, in
Abuja while another person was critically
injured and receiving treatment in the
hospital. Confirming the incident, Information
Officer of National Emergency
Management Agency, NEMA, Mr. Sani Datti,
said, three people were casting concrete at
an uncompleted building behind Dunes
Plaza in Maitaima, Abuja, when suddenly the concrete collapsed and trapped them. After the relevant emergency agencies
rescued the trapped workers, two people
were feared dead and one person was
critically injured and was rushed to the
hospital. The two people that died were identified as
Hamza and Friday, while Ganiyu Akande who
was critically injured had been taken to the
hospital.

Truck Crushes Mother Of Five To Death In Abuja

A 39 year-old mother of five, Deaconess
Ngozi Ike, met her untimely death in Abuja
while she rode on a commercial motorcycle,
popularly called okada on her way back to
her shop at village market where she sold
Nigerian prints and Hollandis. She was said to be returning to her shop on
Okada around 12 noon when, she, like many
others at the scene, sighted an articulated
vehicle, with the driver and his conductor
shouting, ‘brake failure, brake failure’, for
everyone to clear from the road. Mrs Ike panicked and jumped from the
Okada, according to eyewitnesses. Without
stopping, the Okada rider zoomed off
unhurt, but Ngozi lost her balance while
trying to run, and fell on the verge of the
road where the trailer met her. The trailer, with number plate XV 245 EPE,
crushed her and went further to ram into
other vehicles parked around. Sympathizers
who picked up her phone from the scene
informed Mrs Ngozi’s husband, who with
other family members rushed to the scene of the accident. An eyewitness said the trailer was sighted
from Arab Road Junction heading towards
Byazhin Road in Kubwa. The eyewitness confirmed to Vanguard that
the driver of the trailer and his assistant
indeed kept shouting, ‘brake failure; brake
failure,’ to warn people to clear off the road
but that could not save the housewife from
being crushed. Another eye witness, who said he was a member of the same church
with Ngozi, said the deceased’s junior
sister, identified as Lilian, had premonition
of an imminent death in the family though
the dream did not zero-in on the victim. Six of the cars smashed by the articulated
vehicle were damaged beyond repairs while
two others were badly dented. All the
vehicles were parked on the verge of the
road while some of the owners have their
workshops just by the scene of the accident. One of the vehicle owners, Mr
Ambrose Bello, kept thanking God for
saving his life. Bello said he parked his
vehicle in front of his workshop when he
heard noise outside and rushed out to see
what was happening only to see his car crushed by the trailer. When Vanguard visited the home of the Ike
family, it was under lock and key as the
entire family was said to have had travelled
to Obiaruku, Delta State, the deceased’s
home town, for her burial. Family friend of the Ikes for 13 years, Elder
and Mrs Alizor Chuks, said Mrs Ike visited
them on August 7while they also saw her on
August 9, when she was returning from
Kubwa village market. That was the last they
saw of her before Mr Ike called them to break the sad news of her death on that
Saturday. Mrs Alizor said Ngozi Ike was a peace loving
and jovial friend since she they became
friends in 2000 and that both families
worship in Christ Chosen Church of God as
senior members. According to Elder Alizor, when Elder Ike
informed his late wife’s family about the
death of their daughter, her family insisted
that they must see the remains in Obiaruku,
warning that she must not be buried in
Abuja or anywhere else. The Ike family traveled to Obiaruku on
August 11 to bury the remains of Dns Ike
who om death snapped away at her prime.