The planned a two-day nationwide protest on July 26 and 27 by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over the continued closure of federal universities is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Monday.
The Guardian reports that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) will stage a two-day nationwide protest next week (July 26 and 27) over continued closure of federal universities.
In a circular signed by President Ayuba Wabba and General Secretary Emmanuel Ugboaja, the NLC said the protests would take place in Abuja and all its councils in the 36 states of the federation including Abuja.
Calling on the councils to begin mobilisation immediately, the NLC berated the Federal Government for alleged unwillingness to resolve the crisis rocking the institutions.
It also accused government of rejecting recommendations of the Prof. Nimi Briggs committee. It said since the Federal Government set up the committee to make recommendations on review of workers’ salaries in universities, the negotiating unions and NLC have been in the dark on its report.
It added that circumstances surrounding the work of the committee portray the government as unserious. This came as legal luminary and statesman, Chief Wole Olanipekun, urged Nigerians to view the strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) as a national emergency, which must be resolved immediately.
He made this known while delivering the 2022 National Public Service Lecture of the University of Ibadan Alumni Association (UIAA) worldwide, entitled: ‘Building Blocks for Unbundling Critical Problems Plaguing Education in Nigeria: A Clarion Call to Alumni Associations to Rebuild the Collapsing Portal through which they Passed’.
He said: “If we place premium emphasis on education, how much is ASUU requesting that we cannot give? These lecturers are not just fighting for themselves; they are fighting for the future of public education in the country.”
The newspaper says that the PAN Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, yesterday, dismissed President Muhammadu Buhari’s directives to the army to wipe out terrorists and insurgents.
The group lamented that having given such orders so often; they have lost significance. The President, while addressing graduating students of Senior Course 44 of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, on Thursday, had said: “Recent terrorist attacks in Nigeria bore the hallmark of national and trans-border insurgents trying to cause havoc in Nigeria as well as in neighbouring countries.”
He then charged the soldiers to consider it part of their duty “to confront these terrorists and insurgents and wipe them off the face of the earth.”
But in a statement signed by Afenifere’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Jare Ajayi, the group said insurgency should not to have occurred at all had government lived up to its responsibility.
It said: “Since it began, the kid-glove treatment meted out to the terrorists was what made them grow to the point of taking over territories in some states in the northern part of the country, notably Sokoto, Kaduna, Borno, Niger and Zamfara, among others.”
While appreciating Buhari’s promise to give the military needed support, Afenifere noted that this has been repeated several times without corresponding action.
The Punch reports that Premium Motor Spirit popularly known as petrol will now be sold between N170/litre and N190/litre in filling stations across the country, following what is believed to be a subtle agreement between Federal Government officials and oil marketers.
Findings by The PUNCH on Sunday revealed that the development was the outcome of a meeting between the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority and oil marketers on Thursday.
Sources privy to the meeting said it was agreed that the pump price of petrol should be increased by N10 per litre.
A market survey on Sunday revealed that price display boards at some petrol stations in Lagos reflected new prices starting between N170 per litre and N175 per litre.
However, some other filling stations sold above these prices, with some selling as high as N185/litre.
Oil marketers denied holding a meeting with the NMDPRA on the subject matter but sources close to the matter confirmed to our correspondent that the meeting actually held.
The newspaper says that in an attempt to reduce carbon emissions in Nigeria, Dangote Cement Plc has fostered a partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme, the National Environmental Standards and the Regulations Enforcement Agency to promote environmental sustainability.
A statement said the partnership was finalised alongside Lagos Business School Sustainability Centre and the Nigerian Conservation Foundation as part of the company’s initiatives in commemorating the 2022 World Environment Day in all its 14 production plants in Nigeria and Africa.
The statement further stated that World Environment Day featured a web forum entitled “Only one Earth: Conserving the Values of Biodiversity.” The forum had about 560 participants from the manufacturing and extractive industries across Africa.
Speaking at the forum, Head of Sustainability, Dangote Cement Plc, Dr. Igazeuma Okoroba, said that the Dangote Cement initiative was meant to complement government efforts.
“World Environment Day commemoration avails us the opportunity to create awareness on sustainability initiatives to conserve the earth and maintain the values of biodiversity.”
According to Okoroba, the initiatives were “aimed at entrenching sustainability consciousness across the business’ value chain by complying with rehabilitation plans and exploring ways to protect the ecosystem in the communities where we operate.”
The Group Managing Director of Dangote Cement Plc, Mr Michel Pucheros, noted that the company demonstrated support for governments’ efforts by contributing climate solutions that would reduce Nigeria’s carbon emissions.
The Sun reports that the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) outgoing country director, Nigeria, Dr. Erasmus Morah, has stated that Nigeria can end the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in 2030.
In this interview with Daily Sun, Morah said at current coverage of 90-83, Nigeria is already well positioned to bring treatment to 95 per cent of all those in need and to keep 95 per cent of them on treatment virally suppressed.
Morah, however, said there are many things that Nigeria must still do to ensure that the end of AIDS in sight is realized without fail.
Speaking on the critical priorities he had when he came to Nigeria, he said that the former Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, told him that “Erasmus, you will have a difficult job in Nigeria. Not only are the coverage figures not good, but people just don’t believe any HIV data coming out of the country. We must find a way to help the country change this narrative.”
These words have been like ‘a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path.’ Indeed, when I arrived, treatment coverage for people living with HIV was estimated at a little more than 30 percent, and there were no reliable data for programming and targeting the response. Also, the Government of Nigeria had essentially left financing of the national HIV response to the international donor community.
GIK/APA