Strike is meant to save public universities says ASUU
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has said that the ongoing strike is meant to save public universities from imminent collapse.
In a statement signed on Monday by Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, the President of ASUU, the union confirmed that it had “decided to roll over the strike to a comprehensive, total and indefinite strike action from 12:01 am on Monday, 29th August, 2022.”
This decision came after the National Executive Council (NEC) of the union held an emergency meeting on Sunday in Abuja with the objective of trying to find a solution to the six-month-old strike.
The union said that the federal government had failed to address its “demands” and therefore had no option but to extend the six-month-old strike.
Read also: Real strike begins now – ASUU
YIAGA raises alarm over attempt by Buhari to capture INEC
Samson Itodo, the Executive Director of the Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth & Advancement (YIAGA) Africa, has condemned in strong terms President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to nominate Residential Electoral Commissioners.
Itodo, who presented his objection during an interview he had on Monday on Channels TV Politics today, said that the nominations were an attempt to influence the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the 2023 general election. That the Presidency hopes to plant its party faithful with the appointments in order to gain politically.
“Nigerians need to know that there is an attempt to capture INEC,” he said. “And this is not the first time. It started with an attempt to appoint Lauretta Onochie. ”
A retrospection of President Buhari’s attempts, according to Itodo, came in July this year when he asked the senate to confirm 19 nominees as INEC RECs.
According to his findings, those INEC RECs had partisan leanings and therefore created room for political interference in making a non-partisan decision in the upcoming general election.
“We are 179 days to the elections; RECs have not been confirmed. And you’ve now appointed people who have partisan leanings,” he added.
“The Senate needs to rise to the occasion by rejecting these nominees and asking the President to re-nominate. It (the nominations) is an aberration of the constitution. ”
He argued that the nominees would undermine INEC’s reputation as a fair and unbiased umpire and were likely to dent the credibility of the upcoming 2023 general election.
Some of the nominees with affiliations to the All Progressive Congress (APC) are “Prof. Muhammad Lawal Bashir from Sokoto,” a former Governorship aspirant under the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the 2015 election cycle.
“Mrs. Sylvia Uchenna Agu, the nominee for Enugu state, is believed to be the younger sister of the APC Deputy National Chairman, Southeast,” the YIAGA statement read.
“The nominee for Imo State, Mrs. Pauline Onyeka Ugochi, a former Head of ICT at INEC in Imo State, gained notoriety for alleged corruption and connivance with politicians to undermine elections.
“Mrs. Queen Elizabeth Agwu, a former Accountant-General of Ebonyi, was suspended allegedly on the grounds of incompetence and corruption in 2016.
“We contend that the appointment of these individuals as RECs will significantly undermine the neutrality and impartiality of the Independent National Electoral Commission, and it will increase mistrust in INEC and Nigeria’s electoral process.” YIAGA’s statement was made available to Channels TV.
Lack of constitutional powers responsible for us losing many court cases on arrested vessels – Naval Chief
The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, has said that the reason why they have lost so many court cases on arrested vessels is because they do not have the constitutional powers to prosecute maritime suspects.
Gambo revealed this during an interview with Channels TV NewsNight, which aired on Monday. He said that the naval authorities are in talks with Abubakar Malami (SAN), the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice for the Federal Government, to release a part of the money recovered from the sale of arrested vessels and maritime assets to the Navy.
He lambasted the fact that the Nigerian Navy is not part of the beneficiaries of the proceeds from the sale of arrested vessels, despite the risk they take to police the waterways.
He believes that the funds would assist in no small measure to help address some of the funding challenges that they face and ensure that exhibits are kept safe during litigation.
Gambo admitted that their statutory enforcement and maritime policy roles only limit them to arresting criminals in our waterways and do not give them the legitimate powers to prosecute apprehended criminals.
An issue he believes should be addressed for fairness and equity amongst security agencies in Nigeria. “In the conduct of our statutory enforcement and maritime policy roles, the Nigerian Navy arrests numerous criminals for committing infractions within our maritime domain. However, unlike other law enforcement agencies with prosecuting rights, we cannot prosecute offenders, ” he said.
He admitted that because of this, the Nigerian Navy has lost so many cases on arrested vessels. A situation he believes is even made worse by the huge cost of handling most of these logistics challenges created by these arrested vessels.
President Lourenco of Angola wins second term
President Joao Lourenco of Angola wins a second term in office amid allegations of electoral fraud. The president, who represents the MLPA political party, a party that has been in power for nearly fifty years, emerged victorious in a highly divisive election that saw it edge out its closest contender, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), by a slim margin.
Lourenco, after being declared the winner by the National Electoral Commission (CNE), promised to be the “president of all Angolans” and to open dialogue to pave the way for national healing. And action he believed would heal the nation from the bitterness that ensued during the campaigns and after the voting ended.
“This is a victory for Angola and Angolans,” Lourenco said in his inaugural address shortly after the unveiling of the result of the August 24 ballot.
“This vote was a vote of confidence, which gives us the immense responsibility of promoting dialogue and social consultation.”
The National Electoral Commission (CNE) reported the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola won 51.17 percent of the ballots, against 43.95 percent for the main challenger, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).
Reuters reported that regardless of the victory, the MPLA might yet end up in court after UNITA had earlier rejected provisional results.
Honda motor partners LG energy to build $4.4 bln U.S. EV battery plant
In their quest to promote clean energy and carbon-free technology, Japan’s Honda Motor Co. will partner with South Korean supplier LG Energy Solution Ltd. to build a new $4.4 billion lithium-ion battery plant for electric vehicles in the United States.
According to Reuters, battery makers are looking to increase production in the US, especially as demand for electric vehicles increases, thereby driving more attention towards the implementation of stricter regulation and tighter tax credit eligibility.
However, details such as where the plants will be located are yet to be finalized, the two companies said. Information gathered by Reuters revealed that Honda is seriously considering the state of Ohio, where Honda’s main U.S. factory is located.
The objective of both companies is to supply batteries exclusively to Honda facilities in North America that will power Honda and Acura EV models.
The deal, which is seen as a welcome development in electric vehicle technology, will see both companies establish a joint venture agreement before building the plant, with the start of construction planned for early 2023 and mass production by the end of 2025.
