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The applicants included people from South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, and others

The Federal Government on Wednesday granted Nigerian citizenship to 174 foreigners.

Briefing journalists after the weekly meeting of the Executive Council of the Federation, FEC, chaired by President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday, the Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, said a breakdown of the applications submitted included those from 45 ‘Niger Wives’ (foreigners married to Nigerians), and 129 from persons that were born by naturalised Nigerians.

Mr. Moro said another 27 applications were rejected and were not approved by FEC because “they did not meet the basic requirements of tax payment and ability to live their lives in Nigeria without being economic burdens and security problems”.

“A series of factors were taken into consideration, but much more importantly the issue of security that have become very serious consideration especially when foreigners from countries that are prone to violence such as Lebanon and Syria apply to become Nigerian citizens,” the minister said.

The minister also criticised Nigerians who were losing faith in the country.

“We are in this country losing some level of faith in the viability of Nigeria, on the brightness of the future of Nigeria given the level of potential that we have in this country today by some Nigerians and cynics, especially opposition political parties or persons creating an impression that Nigeria is gravitating towards a failed state.

“Yet we have foreigners who have very serious economic interest in Nigeria who have lived in this country, some since independence who are eager to become Nigerian citizens by taking into consideration the economic viability and potential of Nigeria and hoping that their lives can better be lived in this country as Nigerian citizens than citizens of their countries,” he said.

Mr. Moro said the applicants were from diverse countries as Venezuela, Mexico, Thailand, South Korea, Cameroun, Syria, Lebanon, Greece, India, and Singapore.

According to a working document of the FEC, the Interior Minister had presented a memo to Council seeking approval for the report of the cabinet committee to review the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Nigerian Citizenship (ACNC) for the grant of Nigerian citizenship to foreign applicants.

The council had inaugurated a seven-member committee to review the recommendations for the ACNC on the grant of the Nigerian citizenship. The committee then concluded its assignment with a report to council.

The EFCC also submitted its report on the 79 applicants referred to it in 2012; and recommended only 51 out of the 79 applicants for citizenship.

Source: http://premiumtimesng.com/news/national/149191-nigeria-grants-citizenship-174-foreigners.html

THE about five-month-old strike embarked upon by members of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) may be called off next week.

It was gathered that the union would conclude consultations with its members and may resume class soon.

The union, it was also gathered, had asked the Federal Government to slash across board, salaries of National Assembly members, ministers and other political office holders by 2014.

The demand was placed on the Federal Government at a marathon meeting leadership of the union held with President Goodluck Jonathan and other key government officials at the Presidential Villa, on Monday.

ASUU president, Dr Nasir Isa Fagge, could not confirm this, as calls put to him on his mobile line were unsuccessful, but ASUU source told the Nigerian Tribune in Abuja that the demand formed part of their deliberations on Monday to early hours of Tuesday.

The source said ASUU had suggested this based on the complaint by the Federal Government that it had no money to implement all aspects of the 2009 agreement as demanded.

Nigerian Tribune, however, gathered that branch chairmen of the ASUU had been directed to brief their members on the offer by President Jonathan, which is largely an addition of N20 billion to the N200 billion already agreed upon with Vice President Namadi Sambo to be released to universities annually.

According to the fresh pact, the Federal Government had agreed to release N220 billion yearly to the public universities, beginning from 2014 till the next five years.

It was also gathered that the meeting adopted the accord struck by the vice president with the union, on the need to increase the N30 billion already released for the payment of academic earned allowance to N40 billion.

According to sources, government also agreed that the N40 billion should be regarded only as first instalment, and not a once-and-for-all payment.

At the meeting, the government assured that it would, among other things, revamp the public universities by ensuring that all those issues that always led to strike were dealt with once and for all.

ASUU president had, after the meeting, told reporters that his team would take back the message of President Jonathan to varsity teachers before a decision would be taken on the next line of action.

Source: http://tribune.com.ng/news2013/index.php/en/component/k2/item/25713-ASUU-may-call-off-strike-next-week-%E2%80%A2demands-slash-of-lawmakers%E2%80%99-salaries-by-2014.html

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Chairman, maintain ya lane nah. Wetin concern Chelsea here now?

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has begun consultations with its members on whether or not to accept the new offer of a yearly payment of N220 billion over the next five years made by the federal government, in furtherance of the implementation of the 2009 Agreement aimed at ending the four-month strike by the university teachers.

THISDAY gathered that the federal government at a marathon meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan that ended Tuesday, had made the offer of the annual payment of N220 billion for five years after the union had insisted on getting paid N350 billion in 2014 and N400 billion annually over the next four years.

But the federal government had pleaded with the union to be reasonable in its demands so that the universities could be reopened. It also appealed to ASUU’s representatives at the meeting to take its offer to its members and gave them one week to thrash it out.

If the federal government’s offer is accepted, the amount will be used for the universities’ infrastructure needs and lecturers’ earned allowances as stipulated under the 2009 Agreement.
Following the N200 billion annual offer made by the federal government, the union, after the 13-hour meeting, said it could not take a decision yet on the proposal until its members had examined the offer and decided whether to accept or reject it.

Although none of the parties to the negotiations, which began on Monday at 2.40 pm and ended at about 3.30 am yesterday, was willing to divulge details to reporters who had kept vigil throughout the meeting, it was gathered that the concrete annual lump sum of N220 billion offered by government, raised hopes of an imminent end to the protracted labour dispute.

Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) were upbeat yesterday that students who had been kept home by the strike would soon return to schools.
Briefing State House reporters yesterday morning after the marathon meeting, ASUU President, Dr. Nasir Fagge, said the union would take the message from Jonathan to its members.

On what the message was all about, he said the union got a message from the president and would take it to the members.

He however declined to say what had transpired at the meeting and whether a truce was reached or not.
“Well we had a lengthy meeting with Mr. President, rubbing minds on how best to address the problem of university education in this country. And we now have a message from Mr. President which we are going to take to our members. And we are expecting that our members will respond appropriately to the message of Mr. President,” he explained.

When asked for details of the message, Fagge said: “I can’t tell you (reporters). It is not for you. It is for our members.”
He also declined to say if he was satisfied with the president’s offer, adding: “Don’t put words into my mouth. Our members will determine that.”

On whether the union was ready to call off the strike to allow the resumption of academic activities in universities, he stressed: “That is up to our members.”

Wogu, also in his interaction with reporters, expressed optimism that the outcome of the negotiations with ASUU would lead to the suspension of the strike.
He said: “We made progress. The president of ASUU told you (reporters) that they are going back with a message from the federal government to their members. And the message is full of high expectations and hope.”

On whether the message was good enough to make ASUU call off the strike, he said: “That is why the message is full of high expectations and hope. So our prayer is that they come back with a positive outcome.
“They might not even come back to meet us, they might take decisions there that will meet your expectations.
“Nigerians should be patient for ASUU to finish their meetings and come out with a message to Nigerians.”


On whether the government made any fresh offer to the union, Wogu said: “Well, the offers we made are the offers they are talking about in line with the 2009 agreement. The issues that led to the strike are issues contained in the 2009 Agreement and we did not go beyond the agreement.”

The minister, who also spoke to THISDAY on the issue yesterday, reiterated his statement that the marathon meeting focused on the 2009 agreement with the union.

“We believe the presidential intervention has resolved the logjam. The ball is now in the court of the union leaders to meet with their members to convey the outcome of the meeting to their members.
“We are very optimistic that this will bring about a positive outcome. Even the ASUU team was very happy with the deliberations,” he said.

The minister however was not categorical on whether the federal government had accepted to implement the terms of the 2009 Agreement to the letter.
The NLC, which was part of the negotiations, also welcomed the offer made by the federal government to ASUU.

NLC acting General Secretary, Chris Uyot, who declined to give any details on what was discussed, described the proposal as “acceptable”.

But he told THISDAY in a telephone conversation yesterday that while the federal government’s offer was acceptable to the NLC, suspending the strike would depend on whether ASUU finds it acceptable or not.
He added that the acceptability or otherwise of the offer would be determined after a meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of ASUU.
“We held a meeting with the president and ASUU. Yes, there was an offer, the offer was okay and acceptable to the NLC but it depends on ASUU on whether they can accept it. When you have an offer in a situation of this nature, you need to put them before your members who gave you the mandate; you have to get back to them before taking a decision,” he said.

Uyot described the process as a regular feature of industrial relations' negotiations.
On details of the proposal put on the table by the federal government, he said: “I cannot reveal the details of the offer. The offer to ASUU are not to the NLC, so until ASUU comes out with a statement, we cannot reveal the details.”

Also, the Chairman of ASUU (UniAbuja chapter), Dr. Clement Chup, said the union's NEC would reach out to members before taking a decision.
“The meeting has been held. There will be a briefing at different levels and we will get back to you all,” he said.

He also declined to reveal details of the meeting or whether the union would accept the new offer.
“I am sorry, I am not permitted to speak on whether the offer is acceptable or not, or discuss the details,” he added.

But it was gathered that given the latest development, ASUU might be more disposed now to return to the classroom.

A labour analyst who asked not to be named said it was in the interest of the union to make some concessions on its demands following the interventions by the president, after several interventions by highly-placed individuals and the National Assembly had failed.

Negotiating teams headed by Vice-President Namadi Sambo as well as Benue State Governor, Mr. Gabriel Suswam, who chairs the Needs Assessment Implementation Committee had both failed to yield fruit.
“ASUU has to realise that it has no support among Nigerians, even NANS has condemned the strike. Nigerians are also unhappy with ASUU whose demands have been described as outrageous since the details were revealed,” the analyst said.

Source: http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/fg-offers-ASUU-n220bn-over-five-years-to-end-strike/163580/

Good job, guys! You've done Africa proud.

Chillisauce: Just watch match my man.
After we talk that one

I'll be here to remind you...

Does anyone notice that our boys are not playing as team upfront today? After that goal, they have missed several scoring opportunities due to selfishness and lack of cohesion as a unit. If they continue this way, then we have good reason(s) to worry...

This is one of the absurdities that we have come to accept as normal in Nigeria. I see no reason why elected Governors will shuttle across the country's airspace on selfish political campaigns, abandoning their primary responsibility/obligation to the poor masses who elected them. BTW, does anyone have an idea of what the job-description of a Nigerian Governor looks like?

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