₦airaland Forum

leicestercamper:
The same way umshi will be messed up. We ready for you miscreants

Malory:
Stop coming to Anambra state

Lionnation:
I was there live and I saw the work on going but is narrow gauge unlike the ones in the north and west

leicestercamper:
Ebonyi is a useless worthless backward state filled with illiterates and miscreants. You can't find more that 100 Anambra people in ebonyi but there are millions of ebonyi people living in Anambra. Anambra is like the America of ebonyi people

Ournolly:
You sound frustrated.
The above mentioned company was registered in 1993 and he wasn't in 20s then. Even at that nothing shows it was a multi billion naira company as at then and will likely not be until he joined politics and maybe laundered money through the company in the name of contract.

Before becoming the governor of Ebonyi no one knows Umahi, outside his place.

And for your information, Peter Obi was not just a manager. He was the chairman of Fidelity Bank and a host of other multi billion naira companies.
He has massive shares in many international establishments. I can easily share you the video where he mentioned the companies.
Peter Obi is paying taxes not less that N50 million yearly.
That's the person you are comparing Umahi with.
The so called engineering company that mad him a billionaire no one knows.

Oh! Wait! He told you guys he was a billionaire at 20s and you guys are mentioning it in sensible discussions. Gullibility is dangerous.

If you are not gullible you will be aware that there is unlikely self mad billionaire in Nigeria in their 20s, unless those that inherited it like Ojukwu, Dangote etc.
Why am I even replying someone with non functional brain?

ResidentSnitch:
If it is so, then what are the millions of Anambra indigenes doing in Abakaliki, a 'state ravaged by poverty, backwardness and illiteracy' ?

Recall that Governor Nasir of El-Rufai of Kaduna state had claimed that 19 APC governors backed the removal of Buni as the party’s chairman and the appointment of Governor Sani Bello of Niger state as his successor.

Naija News can report that the APC governors supporting Buni have been identified by the immediate-past Director-General of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, Salihu Lukman.



Lukman named the governors working with their Yobe counterpart as Yahaya Bello of Kogi, Hope Uzodinma of Imo, Dave Umahi of Ebonyi and Dapo Abiodun of Ogun.

He also claimed that the Senate Chief Whip and former governor of Abia State, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu and some party leaders are working with Buni to stop the party’s national convention slated for March 26 from holding.


Lukman said; “There are known collaborators of His Excellency Mai Mala who have colluded with him to ensure that all attempts to organise the APC National Convention are blocked.

“Three Governors who are known and must also be called upon to account for their roles in undermining decisions to organise the APC National Convention are His Excellency Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, His Excellency Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, and His Excellency Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State.



“There are other party leaders, including Sen Uzo Kalu who have actively supported His Excellency Mai Mala to undermine the decision to organise the National Convention of the party. The March 17, 2022 APC NEC should initiate processes of a disciplinary hearing in line with provisions of the APC Constitution to sanction all these leaders if found guilty.”

Hanks0000:
Hmmm... Even with the fact that the dude looks unkempt.
All because he's got some cash... Wow..
Ladies never cease to amaze me.

israelmao:
Umahi's defection was aimed at presidential ambition.

TUTU147:
Dave is really working for the state,let them allow him to complete his tenure.2023 is really really playing out.

NAAT threatened the action over the non-implementation of the Memorandum of Agreement it signed with the Federal Government in 2009.

The Chairman, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike chapter of the union, Mr Kenneth Nwaji, said this to newsmen on Monday.

Nwaji, who is the South-East Zonal Public Relations Officer, read the memo from the national secretary, Abuja, signed by the General Secretary, Mr Abubakar Yusuf.

He said the Federal Government had been issued a two-week ultimatum starting from Feb. 28, and ending on March 14, to address all the union’s grievances.

Nwaji also noted that NAAT would hold its National Executive Council meeting on March 17, for a possible declaration of two weeks warning strike.

He said that the NEC will take a final decision on indefinite strike action after its meeting which is scheduled to hold on March 30 and 31.

NAAT has alleged delay in the renegotiation of the FGN/NAAT 2009 Agreement, insensitivity, and provocative attitude of the government on the matter.

It also accused that the government had failed to release enabling circulars for CONTISS 14 and 15 as contained in the FGN/NAAT Memoranda of Understanding of September 2017, November 2020, and that of February 2021.



The union denounced the non-release of funds for payment of Earned Allowance to defray the backlog of arrears which led to some branches battling with payment for the period of 2009 to 2012.

Nwaji also complained about the lack of adequate, modern, and functional laboratory equipment, as well as non-payment of minimum wage arrears.



The union also raised other issues which included the deplorable conditions of laboratories/workshops/studios in the nation’s universities and poor funding of state universities.

Another concern raised was the non-composition of Governing Councils for Universities of Agriculture for more than a year now, saying that the development had caused unnecessary delay in the promotions of its members in those institutions.

Nigeria’s minister of education, Adamu Adamu, on Monday, gave a three-month deadline to the newly inaugurated committee saddled with the responsibility of renegotiating the 2009 agreement between the government and the university workers’ unions including the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union of Education and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists.

But the leadership of ASUU has said the ongoing three-week-old nationwide strike will continue until “whatever the government wants to do with the agreement is completed and an acceptable implementation commences.”



Inauguration
Mr Adamu, who spoke during the inauguration of the renegotiation committee in Abuja, said he expected the exercise to be concluded within three months and produce a draft document.

The seven-man committee will be chaired by an emeritus professor of obstetrics and gynaecology, and pro-chancellor of Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu Alike Ikwo, Ebonyi State, Nimi Briggs.


The minister said the committee is expected to review the draft 2009 agreements and negotiate with the university-based unions including SSANU, NAAT and NASU.

Listing the terms of reference for the committee, the minister said: “Liaise and consult with relevant stakeholders to finalise the position of the Federal Government to the issues in the draft proposed FGN/ASUU Renegotiated Agreement;

Renegotiate in realistic and workable terms the 2009 Agreements with other University-Based Unions; Negotiate and recommend any other issue the Committee deems relevant to reposition the NUS for global competitiveness; and submit proposed draft agreements within three (3) months from the date of inauguration.”

Selection
Mr Adamu said the nomination of the members and chairman of the committee was “not unconnected with your track records of invaluable impacts to the development and progress of the Nigerian University System.”

“I have no reservations that you would conduct this all important assignment with the seriousness and the urgency it deserves. This is more so, considering the ongoing industrial action by one of the unions,” he said.

He urged the committee to double down on its efforts to complete the task and produce a “realistic and workable draft” that will holistically tackle the challenges confronting the NUS and reposition it to effectively play its very important role in national development.

‘No resumption until…’
Speaking on behalf of the union, the coordinator of the Lagos zone of ASUU, Adelaja Odukoya, said the position of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the union is that there will be no suspension of the ongoing strike until the renegotiated agreement is implemented.

“NEC is very clear on its position about the conditions of service. It said until that is resolved, and the deployment of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) in the university system is achieved, the strike shall continue. And since the condition of service is contained in the agreement that has been renegotiated and now to be renegotiated again, then until the game of the government ends and the result is placed in our hands, there will be no end to this strike,” Mr Odukoya said.

Asked if ASUU would be willing to honour the new committee if invited for a negotiation meeting, Mr Odukoya said only the union’s NEC can answer that “but I’m sure that ASUU does not foreclose opportunities for talks.”

The official lamented the poor pay of Nigerian lecturers, saying a full-fledged professor at the peak of the career and who can no longer be promoted only earns N416,000 per month, and that such has been their lot since 2009.

“How much was a bag of rice in 2009 and how much is it now? What was and what is the exchange rate? Have politicians been receiving the same pay since 2009? If no one is ashamed, we are. So there is no going back on this. Let them continue to delay, we’re not bothered,” he added.

Meanwhile, while ASUU is already in its fourth week into its industrial action that started on February 14, the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of SSANU and NASU said it is already mobilising members for a showdown with the government.

Backstory
The 2009 agreement between the workers’ union and the Nigerian government has been a major source of a long industrial dispute that has grounded Nigerian universities many times.
In the past three years, the renegotiation committee has had three different teams, all trying to come up with an acceptable draft.

First was the renegotiation committee led by a former pro-chancellor, University of Lagos, Wale Babalakin, which was appointed in 2017.

In November, 2020, Mr Babalakin, after about three years without a headway and following his disagreement with UNILAG management, resigned from the committee in protest.

A month later in December, 2020, Munzali Jibril, an emeritus professor of English and immediate past governing council chairman of the Federal University, Lafia, Nasarawa State, took over the chair of the committee.

Minister of labour and employment, Chris Ngige, said Mr Jibril and most of his committee members have retired as pro-chancellors, making them unfit for the negotiation.

But with the inauguration of a new team on Monday, it is unclear if the task will be achieved within the timeline given by the minister.

The price of crude oil on Monday hit $130 a barrel, the highest since July 2008, after the United States and European allies considered banning the importation of Russian oil in protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Brent crude futures jumped $12.61, or 10.6 per cent, to $130.72 a barrel by 0449 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed $10.41, or 9 per cent, to $126.09,” Reuters reported.


Monday’s intraday highs are near record levels seen for both contracts in July 2008 when Brent hit $147.50 a barrel and WTI touched $147.27.

Over the past week, the prices of crude oil rose after the United States and its allies sanctioned Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.



Russia is the world’s second-largest oil producer, mostly selling its crude to European refineries. It is also the largest supplier of natural gas to Europe, providing about 35 per cent of the supply there.

On Sunday, the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. and its European allies are exploring banning Russian oil imports.



“We are now in very active discussions with our European partners about banning the import of Russian oil to our countries, while of course, at the same time, maintaining a steady global supply of oil,” Mr Blinken was quoted by Reuters as saying in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” show on Sunday.



Reuters quoted the CMC markets analysts as saying, “A boycott would put enormous pressure on oil and gas supply that has already felt the impact of increasing demand.”

“Prices are likely to rise in the short term, with a move toward $150 a barrel not out of the question,” the analyst said.

The rise is good news for Nigeria which relies on crude sales for most of its revenue. However, it is bound to create more problems for the country as higher prices will make fuel subsidies more expensive, with the likelihood of Nigerians having to pay more for fuel, transportation and goods.

A man, who regained freedom from his captors a fortnight ago in Woji, near Port Harcourt, has raised the alarm over a new gang of kidnappers in Rivers State that specialises in abducting victims and harvesting their internal organs for sale.

The traumatised man, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he was kidnapped by a group of armed men around Woji in the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state while trying to drop off a friend.

He said he was taken to a forest called Sambisa in Oyigbo on the outskirts of Port Harcourt.

He explained that while in captivity, he listened to a conversation where the kidnappers were trying to negotiate how much they would get for his internal organs.



“I was there with them for about four days. They beat and stabbed me. They got access to my mobile telephone and my account,” the man stated.

The victim said the miscreants took his Automated Teller Machine and emptied his account, adding that he overheard them making calls and haggling over his internal organs.



He stated, “They forced me to insert my ATM card into their Point of Sale machine and collected all the money in my account. After three days, my brother sent N50,000 to my account. They collected it after so much torture.

“I was there when they were calling a fellow and haggling my kidney, my liver, neck and everything.



“It was just one of them who said I’m too young to die. At the end of the day, God intervened in my case.”



The victim warned residents of Port Harcourt and its environs to avoid leaving details of bank transactions on their phones.

He also advised motorists, who drive at night, to wind up their windows to protect them from kidnappers.

He stated, “Part of the advice I will give to people in Port Harcourt is that if you are driving at night and you have an air-conditioned car, ensure you wind up and lock the doors.

“Secondly, everything concerning bank transactions, such as alert messages from banks, make sure that you don’t leave them on your phone.



“That is one of the sources where they can trace your finances and get access to your accounts. My car is still with them as I speak with you.



“I have reported the case to the police kidnapping unit, but till now the police have not given me any information about my car.”

When contacted, the state Commissioner of Police, Friday Eboka, said he was not aware of the incident, but said the command would investigate the claims made by the man.

“I am not aware but I will ask my deputy commissioner to brief me. As he claims, if they used his ATM to collect cash, then we can begin our probe from there,” Eboka stated.

anonimi:
How many teachers has he employed and how much did it change the ratio of teachers to students in schools? How has the number of children in government schools changed?
Can you please answer

Artisticity1:
I can tell you this... This is the best tructure you can get from any sitting governor. Dave doesn't take shit. In as much as I hate him for his cruelty to workers but as a civil engineer who have worked in some of his contracts, I tell you this... It is at its Ultimum strength.

GenBuhari:
He doesn't engage expensive foreign construction companies and uses direct labour so he is able to complete projects at a tiny fraction of the normal cost . If you see some of his mega projects he uses bamboo instead of expensive scaffolding rods and he uses human labour where others are hiring or buying expensive machinery.

jimyjames:
The most foolish comment probably from a kid who knows nothing

By the way if ebonyi should accept ruga why wait for umahi's tenure to finish? Cause it's easier for ruga to happen in his tenure than after his tenure

meeky247:
He will be the next minister of works and transport. Mr project.

mex551:
how many persons live in Ebonyl? How many has cars? Is there really a traffic problem in Ebonyi? Thought projects are supposed to solve problems? Why not try to build and develop Agriculture where Ebonyi has comparative advantage in the production of Rice and Yam? Abeg leave these misplaced priorities

wiseoneking:
Though this is not bad but I expected Umahi to toe the paths of development process especially of Anambra state that tends majorly in human index development, sound education etc. Ebonyi state is probably the least developed eastern states and the most illiterate. They should overhaul the primary and secondary education system by making sure that children in rural villages have access to good education. I am really excited about his infrastructures but that is like taking the pattern of Northern states like Kano who ate bend to impress the society by building longest flyover, longest that but having the most illiterate society in Nigeria. Invest heavily in education, Agriculture and small research and not on these for now. In I actually applauded him for King David medical university but unfortunately, the cost of medicine there is as that of private university which defeats the aim of accessibility of the average Eboyians.
For example, the international cargo airport is actually not needed in Ebonyi state for now, I bet you it will be poorly utilized compared to Anambra airport. Fortunately, the few people that will even make use of it are most likely be Anambrarians.
Summary of what I am driving at is that he should HEAVILY LOOK INTO PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION FUNDING AND MASSIVE LITERACY PROG before the pattern of development of a SE is state be liken to a heavily illiterate NW like Kano.

anonimi:
How many people has he employed since he became governor for God to bless him