News
Results of the May/June 2021 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) have been released by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).
The examination which was taken by 1,560,261 candidates nationwide was also conducted in Benin Republic and Cote D’Ivoire.
WAEC Head of National Office (HNO), Patrick Areghan, said 1,274, 784 obtained credits and above in five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
Areghan disclosed that results of 170,146 candidates are being withheld for examination malpractices.
He said the Minister of Education has approved that 2022 WASSCE will be conducted in May/June.
Sun
Atiku Bagudu, chairman of Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), says President Muhammadu Buhari has endorsed February 2022 for the All Progressives Congress (APC) national convention.
Speaking with journalists on Monday after he and other APC governors held a meeting with Buhari at the presidential villa, Bagudu said February was suggested to the president, because four states have not held congresses.
“I also explained yesterday that the Progressive Governors Forum discussed the issue of national convention of the party and they mandated us to come and discuss with the president as the party’s leader to give the input of the governors so that the party and the president will consider,” the Kebbi governor said.
“Part of the inputs we got yesterday was that we still have four states which are in the process of completing their congresses like Anambra, understandably because of the recent gubernatorial election; Zamfara and two others, because of logistic challenges and then, Christmas is around the corner and early January, we will be very busy with Ekiti.
“So, the governors, based on all these, suggested that the party and the president should graciously consider February and the president is favourably disposed to the suggestion.”
On his part, Mai Mala Buni, national chairman of the APC caretaker committee, said Nigerians should expect a more united party after the convention is held.
“The Progressive Governors Forum, after their meeting, suggested February to the party and the president has concurred. So, we are going ahead to plan for the convention in February,” Buni said.
“Nigerians should expect more unity and progress as a result of the forthcoming convention.”
Buni denied allegations that he is delaying the convention to extend his tenure as chairman.
“Am I a jobless person who is always trying to extend his tenure? To do what? I have my primary responsibility as a governor to go back to my state and carry out my primary responsibility,” he said.
“What I am here to do is ad hoc and of course to reposition the party and that is exactly what we have been able to achieve.”
The Cable
Osun State Commissioner of Police, Wale Olokode, on Monday said one of the suspects held in connection with the death of Timothy Adegoke, a Masters student of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, had confessed that son of the owner of Hiltons Hotels and Resorts, Ile-Ife, Roheem Adedoyin, arranged how the corpse was evacuated and taken to the bush.
The police boss said Roheem, who is the Managing Director of the hotel where the late Adegoke reportedly died, organised how the corpse was evacuated from the facility and buried without informing the police.
Featuring on a radio programme, ‘Frank Talk’ monitored on Rave FM, Osogbo, Olokode, however said Roheem is on the run, adding that in the course of police investigation into the matter, detectives were able to discover where the corpse was buried.
He said, “One of the suspects confessed that the MD is the son of Ramon Adedoyin, his name is Roheem Adedoyin who is now at large. He also confessed that he (Roheem) organised the corpse to be thrown into a bush. The MD along with two managers took the corpse to the bush.
“None of the staff members informed the police. It was the report of the missing person that made the anti-kidnapping team who then discovered through their meticulous investigation and traced the so-called missing person to that hotel and then traced the corpse, where it was found.”
Olokode also denied knowledge of the audio recording by Adedoyin where he pleaded his innocence while in police custody, and assured stakeholders the autopsy’s report will guide the police in their investigation.
Meanwhile, at the commencement of the autopsy at Osun State University Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, the remains of Adegoke packed in a body bag was brought out of the morgue and taken out in an ambulance to Radiation Room, where x-ray was done.
The body was later returned to the mortuary around 12.55pm, as a team of pathologists commenced the post-mortem, after they have analysed the clothing that the deceased wore last before his death.
The four hour-procedure that was witnessed by representatives of all the parties in the matter, according to Naim Adekilekun, the counsel to the family of the late Adegoke, started around 2.30pm and ended by 6.30pm.
Meanwhile, family members of late Adegoke have asked the police to explain their role in the reported preferential treatment being accorded owner of the hotels, Ramon Adedoyin, in their custody.
Adekilekun, who made the demand while addressing journalists at the premises of the Osun State University Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, on Monday, said the police must assure all concerned that justice would be served.
He also demanded an inquiry into the circumstances that led to the production of an audio by Adedoyin, where he denied involvement in the death of the late Adegoke, despite claim by the police that he was in their custody.
His statement read in parts, “The police need to clear the air on the reported preferential and VIP treatments being accorded the owner of the hotel, Rahman Adedoyin.
“This is already in the public domain and for the sake of fairness and an assurance of justice, the police need to speak up on this.
“We have also watched with dismay, the various attempts to confuse members of the public with endless statements bordering on the ‘innocence’ of the chairman and founder of the hotel, Rahman Adedoyin.
“We would rather prefer that all the suspects await their days in court to prove their innocence instead of the resort to the use of the media to appeal to sentiments.”
Punch
.. we have anticipated such attacks, but we won't take it lying low
..attacked protester, Miss Ibe now in stable condition, lawyer
Hoodlums have attacked and macheted an EndSARS protester, Kamsiyochukwu Ibe, who testified before a Lagos judicial panel on the alleged role of the military and the police in the Lekki shooting of October 20, 2021, one of the panel members, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), has said.
The senior advocate also raised the alarm over the alleged threat to his life since the submission of the report of the Lagos EndSARS panel that at least nine persons were confirmed dead at the Lekki toll plaza when soldiers stormed the tollgate to disperse EndSARS protesters on October 20, 2020.
Adegboruwa called on Nigerians to hold the government responsible if anything unfortunate happens to himself and other panel members and testifiers.
Adegboruwa, who represented the civil society organisation on the panel, said members of the panel are being unfairly persecuted by some state government officials.
He wrote, “Since the submission of the report of the Lagos #EndSARS Panel, there have been lots of threats and attacks, by those suspected to be agents of the government, upon me, especially in the media.
“I have not committed any crime beyond joining other eminent Nigerians with unblemished integrity, to accept the nomination of government on behalf of my constituency, the Nigerian Bar Association and the civil society and the indeed the masses of our people, for a national assignment.
“Two prominent lawyers of the government have openly incited opinions against me on national television, with mindless accusations.
I have however refused to be intimidated or bend to the tactics of government to be silenced.
“I urge the good people of Nigeria, my professional colleagues in the Nigerian Bar Association, my comrades in the civil rights movement and the people of Nigeria, to hold government responsible should anything happen to me.
“Just last night, one of the prominent EndSARS protesters who testified before the Panel, Miss Kamsiyochukwu Ibe, was attacked and dealt serious machete blows, in what was clearly an attempted murder, as reported by her counsel, with very disturbing photos.
“I heeded the clarion call to serve by the government with the honest believe that the Panel was meant to say the truth and nothing but the truth, which is what we have done. It is left for government and Nigerians to do the needful with the report of the Panel.”
Meanwhile, a lawyer in the legal team of some EndSARS protesters, Ayo Ademiluyi has said that Miss Kamsiyochukwu Ibe who was reportedly attacked on Monday is in stable condition in an undisclosed hospital in Lagos.
Ademiluyi is a co-counsel in the legal team of some of the EndSARS protesters lead by former Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Ikeja Branch Chairman, Mr Adesina Ogunlana.
Ademiluyi said they had anticipated the attack on some of their clients but that they will not take it lying low.
He said: “Miss Ibe is fine and in stable conditon. We actual forsaw this and consider it as the first phase of this kind of attacks. We know that the Nigerian state will come after us but we will not take it lying down.
“We know from account of history, the position of oppressors and tyrants and we are prepare for this kind of attacks. We know that is an attempt to suppress our movement but we wont take it lying low.”
A student, Razak Bakare, has been allegedly shot dead by gunmen who invaded the Michael Otedola College of Primary Health Education, in the Epe Local Government Area of Lagos State.
Few hours after the undergraduate was killed, a lecturer, Ahmed Saheed, lost his life when yet-to-be-identified armed men allegedly attacked him around Poka town in Epe.
The attacks which occurred within the space of 48 hours, created panic that affected academic activities on the campus.
A security guard in the institution, who spoke to one of our correspondents on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the incident.
“The student was killed on campus on Wednesday and the lecturer was shot dead on Friday. we have informed the police,” he said.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Adekunle Ajisebutu, has yet to respond to calls made to his mobile number as of the time this report was filed.
Punch
National Youth Service Corps says it generated N511m operating surplus to be paid into the Federation Account for 2021.
Director-General of the NYSC, Ibrahim Shuaibu, a brigadier general, said this in an interview with journalists in Abuja on Friday.
According to him, the amount came about through its revenue-generating ventures.
He said the figure was N231m higher than the sum remitted by the NYSC in 2020.
Ibrahim said the N511m operating surplus of the NYSC this year was generated from five major sources of revenue.
The sources were the NYSC garment factories in Anambra and Niger states as well as the bakery and table water factories in Abuja.
Other included revenue from film productions and national troupe bookings and performances.
He said, “From these ventures, we generated over N280m in 2020, which we paid into the federation account.
“For 2021, we have generated N511m, which we will also pay to the federation account. This is our contribution to the national economy.”
The NYSC DG expressed optimism that the organisation would continue to boost its revenue generation to improve the fiscal space for national spending.
To increase revenue, Ibrahim said the NYSC would maintain its internal financial management reforms and keep tapping the potential of corps members.
Punch
A new militant group in the Niger Delta, Bayan-Men, have blown up an oil facility operated by Nigeria Agip Oil Company in the Ogba-Egbema-Nndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The new militant group, which blew up the oil well, OB5, (Obiavu-5) operated by the oil and gas firm, attributed its action to the firm’s alleged failure to deal directly with its host communities.
The ‘General’ of militant group, in Port Harcourt on Sunday, accused the company of divide and rule.
He said, “The only thing we want Agip to do is to deal directly with the 27 communities of Omoku, according to the Federal Government resolution.
“We don’t want Agip to be negotiating with anybody. They should deal with the communities. If they continue like this, what we have done now is small compared to what we will do. They should treat communities individually.
“We are not joking. We are not interested in killing anybody. Our interest is that they must do the right thing, otherwise we will keep blowing up their facilities. “We are giving them 24 hours to start the process of doing the right thing.”
Reacting to the incident, Coordinator-General of Omoku Community Youth Leaders Forum, Ekeuku Pureheart, blamed the firm for not meeting the demands of the people.
Pureheart stated, “The Federal Government intervened a long time ago. Now, some uncontrollable boys and some militia groups have blown up Agip oil well, OB5. Obiavu-5 is the name of the oil well.
“The boys are still threatening that if Agip does not engage directly with the communities of Omoku and give them what is due them, they will do more.
“We are calling on the Federal Government and other relevant agencies to intervene before things get out of hand. This may cause a drop in oil production which the government doesn’t need now.”
A spokesman of Agip, Dennis Maxi, could not be reached for comments as he neither answered calls nor replied a text message sent to him by our correspondent as of the time of filing this report.
Punch
The United States has once again warned that it may stop rendering military assistance to Nigeria if the country fails to protect human rights.
The US Secretary of States, Antony Blinken, who gave the warning, also urged federal and Lagos State governments to sanction any individuals found to have violated human rights during the October 2020 #EndSARS protests when the white paper on the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses and Other Matters is ready.
He warned that if the rights violations persisted, the US government might evoke the Leahy Law to deny Nigeria access to hardware, which includes arms and other military equipment to fight terrorism and other forms of criminalities.
An eight-man panel led by retired Justice Doris Okuwobi had submitted a 309-page report to the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Monday, indicting soldiers and police for killing peaceful protesters at Lekki toll gate on October 20, 2020.
Describing the Lekki toll gate incident as a massacre, the panel report stated that at least nine persons were killed by security agents at the scene and listed 48 names as casualties, including 22 protesters, who sustained gunshot injuries and 15 others allegedly assaulted by soldiers and police.
During a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday in Aso Rock, Abuja, Blinken had said America anticipated the response of the federal and Lagos State governments to the panel’s findings.
On Friday, Blinken met with members of the civil society in Abuja, reiterating the US’ demand for justice.
In an interview with CNN, Blinken urged Nigeria to bring those indicted by the panel report to book.
He said the US might evoke the Leahy Law on military aid against Nigeria if the country failed to protect human rights.
The Leahy Law is an American rights ordinance that prohibits the US government from providing military assistance to foreign security force units that violate human rights with impunity.
Asked during the CNN interview whether the US had changed its conclusion in the light of the panel’s report, Blinken said he was waiting for the full report to be released by the Lagos State Government.
He, however, argued that the most important thing was ensuring that those found wanting face the full weight of the law.
He said, “But a couple of things are really important. As I said, the report itself, done by the state government, but then once it’s out, for there to actually be action on the basis of the report, action as necessary by the states, action by the Federal Government, and action in the sense of two things.
“First, making sure that based on what is documented to have happened, it won’t happen again – so there may be reforms that are necessary – and building or rebuilding trust between the citizens and the security services, between citizens and the state. That is an obligation of both the state government and the Federal Government.
“Second is accountability. If there are individuals that – as it emerges from this report – who are responsible for committing abuses, there has to be accountability in terms of those individuals. That too is vital to rebuilding trust between citizens and the state and the security services.”
On what the US would do if human rights abuses continued, he responded, “And, of course, we also have laws in place – the Leahy laws, for example – that make sure that if there are units that have committed abuses, we’re not going to provide equipment to those units.”
When asked pointedly if the Leahy law would be imposed on Nigeria, the Secretary of State responded, “Well, we look in any instance if – and if there are credible allegations that prove, that we believe meet the standard of the law, yes, of course, we’ll apply the law.”
A petition by rights groups including Amnesty International had recently forced the US Congress to call for the stoppage of weapons sales to Nigeria.
When asked by CNN if the US government would bow to pressure by the US Congress to impose an arms embargo on Nigeria amid incessant allegations of human rights abuse, Blinken said it would all depend on Nigeria’s response.
Blinken stated, “If there is genuine transparency, accountability and change that follows from these incidents and from these abuses, I think that’s very important not only to our administration, it’s important to Congress in making judgments about continuing to provide assistance to the security forces.”
He explained that the assistance being given to the Nigerian military was not only hardware but training to tackle terrorism and criminal activities.
Blinken said, “But the assistance itself is not just the hardware that we might provide – airplanes or helicopters – it’s the software, the human software. Because one of the things that we’re doing is making sure that as we’re providing equipment to deal with profound security challenges that are faced here in Nigeria – terrorism, criminal activity, other violence – that those who will be using the equipment are trained in a way that makes sure that they are doing it to avoid hurting the good guys even as they’re going after the bad guys, to make sure that the laws of armed conflict are fully in mind. And that if they make mistakes, they’re corrected and they’re brought to light immediately. All of that’s very important. And, of course, we also have laws in place – the Leahy laws, for example – that make sure that if there are units that are – that have committed abuses, we’re not going to provide equipment to those units.”
Panel faults LASG for inviting military to disperse protesters
The judicial panel, in its report, faulted the state government for inviting the army to disperse peaceful #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki toll gate on October 20, 2020.
The panel noted that the violence recorded in some other parts of the state did not happen at the Lekki toll gate, noting that there was no need for any apprehension on the part of the government to deploy soldiers bearing lethal weapons to dispel peaceful protesters at the toll gate.
The report stated, “The panel finds that although the army gave copious evidence of general commotion, violence and mayhem in other locations in Lagos State other than Lekki toll gate, there is no justification behind the deployment of its soldiers and officers to Lekki toll gate in particular, when there was no violence reported there instead of the other critical areas (for example in places like Orile, Mushin etc), which indeed escalated the violence. The deployment of the army to Lekki toll gate on 20/10/2020, in the absence of any reported violence, was totally unwarranted.”
The Commander, 81 Military Intelligence Brigade, Nigerian Army, Victoria Island, A. I. Taiwo, affirmed that the governor called the Chief of Army Staff as well as the GOC 81 Division to ask for intervention because the police had been overwhelmed.
The panel however noted that the ineffectiveness of the police could not be a justification for the invitation of the army and their deployment to the Lekki toll gate on the said date, especially when the government had already opened up dialogue with the protesters.
Punch
The Nkpolu Divisional Police headquarters in Mile three, Port Harcourt, Rivers State have arraigned four secondary school students over charges bordering on cultism.
The charge sheet deposed by Chief Magistrate Phillipa Dike-Udenna said the students are from the Community Secondary School, Nkpolu Oroworukwo axis of mile three in Port Harcourt.
The charge sheet gave the names of the students as Uchechi Okene, 17, Hakeem Suleiman, 18, Sunday Progress, 16 and Nicholas Benson, 16.
The charge sheet PMC 1478C reads, “That you Uchechi Okene ‘m’ aged 17, Hakeem Suleman ‘m’ aged 18, Sunday Progress ‘m’ aged 16 years and Nicholas Benson ‘m’ aged 16 years on the 17th day of November 2021 in Community Secondary School Nkpolu, Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt in Port Harcourt magisterial district did conspire to commit felony to wit Cultism and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 516(A) of the criminal code, Cap 37 Vol.11 laws of Rivers State of Nigeria.
“Count 11 read, that you Uchechi Okene ‘m’ Hakeem Suleiman ‘m’ Sunday Progress ‘m’ and Nicholas Benson ‘m’ on the same date and place at the aforesaid magisterial district did belong and are members of Deegbam Secret cult group and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 2(1) of the secret cut and similar activities prohibition N0 6 laws of Rivers State of Nigeria.”
The students were remanded in Police custody as Philipa Dike-Udenna Chief Magistrate grade 2 of Magistrate court 30 did not sit and they are to be arraigned properly on Monday 22, November 2021.
Reports have it that Nkpolu Police Division filed the case of cultism against the students without transferring the students to the Anti-cultism of the Nigeria Police as it is usually the process in cases of cultism.
Punch
Nigeria's Federal Government at the weekend insisted that the current pump price would remain for now with the expected high rate of travel during the festive period.
Presently, petrol sells at N162/163 per litre in most major petrol stations with independent marketers selling at N165/litre.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, Engr. Farouk Ahmed who spoke to journalists in Abuja at the Petroleum Regulators’ 1st Invitational Golf Tournament organised by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC and NMDPRA, assured consumers that there would be no price increase in the immediate future.
Ahmed who was represented at the event by Ogbogu Ukoha, Executive Director, Distribution Systems, Storage and Retail Infrastructure, said the government was working hard to resolve the challenges faced by operators.
According to him, “I will like to assure everybody that it is mere speculation. There will be no increase in the pump price, not in the near future.
“This is peak consumption period for Nigerians. Our focus must be on the average Nigerian who is on the street.
“People will be travelling now and so you don’t increase pump price arbitrarily like that. So the pump price will be maintained and Nigerians should feel free to travel”.
He however pointed out “ there are issues. Last two weeks the chief executive led, for the first time, we had every major player under the same roof.
“They raised the issues, the issues were addressed as much as we could and we all left with happy faces and handshakes.
“This is the way forward for now. The NNPC was represented by as high as the Group Executive Director, Downstream, who assured that there will be sufficient supply during this period.
“And even on the dollar payment issue, they (NNPC) conceded to take freight in naira. This is because as we know the dollar issue is critical. So I will like to assure everybody that there will be no pump price increase,” he added.
Also speaking to journalists at the event, the Chief Executive of NUPRC, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe noted that despite the global clamour for energy transition, the Commission has had fruitful discussions with investors in the industry.
Komolafe stated that Nigeria needed to increase its oil and gas production to meet its national economic and social demands.
He said: “Since I came on board we’ve started various engagements with investors including international oil companies and other independent producers.
“The feedback we are getting from our engagements with investors has been quite positive regardless of the developments in the outside world, especially with regards to energy transition.
“The PIA (Petroleum Industry Act) has offered very robust and attractive fiscal regimes and so there’s still quite a lot of investment opportunities in the Nigerian oil sector and we try to canvass that to investors regardless of the challenges posed by the energy transition”.
Speaking on the golf tournament which was held at the IBB International Golf and Country Club, Maitama, Komolafe said: “We need productivity in the oil and gas sector and it is in realisation of that that the NUPRC has put together this tournament with our sister agency, because it is important for our workers to be healthy.
“Apart from the health benefits of the game of golf, it is a means of social connectivity and networking. And for oil and gas investments you need to network with investors. So this provides that opportunity for you to achieve that,” he added.
Vanguard
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The Christian Association of Nigeria has knocked the United States for removing Nigeria from its 2021 list of religious violators, saying that Christians are still being persecuted by terrorist groups and other Islamic associations in the country.
The apex Christian organisation said that it is at a loss on the data or statistics used by the US government in arriving at delisting Nigeria from the list of ‘Countries of Particular Concern’ on the issue of freedom of religion.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a statement on Wednesday, blacklisted Russia, China and eight other countries as religious violators, leaving out Nigeria which was placed on the same list in 2020.
Blinken later visited Abuja, Nigeria on a two-day official visit that ended on Friday, saying the delisting of Nigeria was based on facts.
However, CAN in a statement on Saturday frowned upon the move, saying Christians are still being ferociously attacked and nothing has changed between 2020 and 2021 to warrant the removal of Nigeria from the list of religious violators.
The statement signed by CAN President, Rev Samson Ayokunle was titled, ‘CPC List: We Are At a Loss On the Data the US Government Used for the Delisting of Nigeria – CAN’.
The statement read in part, “The US government did not contact us when they were listing Nigeria among the countries of ‘Particular Concern’ on religious freedom, neither did they seek our opinion before removing Nigeria from the list. If they had done, we would have been able to compare the statistics then and now on the issue of freedom of religion in Nigeria.
“Whatever may be the data they used, our prayer is that Nigeria would be a country where no religious group is discriminated against or persecuted and that our government would see to it that all religiously biased policies are discontinued with.
“Christians had faced and are still facing persecution from ISWAP and the Boko Haram Islamic Group till today as before. These are the people who said their agenda was to wipe away Christianity from Nigeria and to plant Islam as the only religion from the North down to the Atlantic Ocean in the South. That agenda with the killing of Christians has not stopped till today and Nigerians are living witnesses.
“The bandits have joined other militant Islamic groups to be ferociously attacking churches, killing worshippers and kidnapping for ransom. The herdsmen are equally doing their havoc. We have lost many people and places of worship to their assault, especially in the Northcentral part of the country and the Northeast.
“Though the madness has grown now and those who are not Christians are being attacked, killed and kidnapped, this is because these criminal acts have become a lucrative business and it is whoever you can kidnap for money! If the government had responded appropriately when this criminal madness began and subdued these evil groups immediately, we wouldn’t be where we are now!”
The Christian association also said discrimination against Christians, especially in Northern Nigeria has not stopped.
“Up till today, our government is still funding the membership of Nigeria in all the International Islamic organisations like OIC and its allies without being part of any international Christian organization.
“Once again, we urge the US government to help us by allowing us to know what has changed between the time our country was put in the list of ‘countries of particular concern’ and now,” it added.
Punch
Lauretta Fagbohun, Ogun
A sum of N2 billion has been released by Governor Dapo Abiodun in Ogun State to offset part of the global cooperative deductions from the state workers.
The governor who promised to settle the outstanding deductions by releasing one billion naira quarterly until all the entire deductions are defrayed, said "the payment will cover four months and it is meant to address the plight of the workers and pensioners".
Comrade Akeem Lasisi, the Chairman, Trade Union Congress, Ogun branch, disclosed this at a news conference after a meeting between the leaders of labour and pensioners’ unions and the governor.
Lasisi said that the governor also released another N1 billion for gratuities of state and local government pensioners.
He told Nigerian Newstrack that “the new gratuity is a 100 per cent increment from the earlier quarterly payment of N500 million he had earlier commenced in 2020.
“We had a fruitful meeting with the governor today. This is a follow-up to other meetings we had before.
“In the meeting, we told the governor that workers are tensed up and restless due to the non-payment of their deductions and he agreed to do something about it.
“I am glad to inform you that he has directed the immediate release of N1 billion for the payment of gratuities and that N1 billion will be released on a quarterly basis for the pensioners.
“As at today, four months of global deductions has been paid and the governor also promised to do this on a quarterly basis,” he said.
Lasisi said the governor has promised that promotion letters for 2018 would be fully implemented in the new year while promotion entitlements for 2019 would commence by March 2022.
According to him, Abiodun told the workers to expect to enjoy their promotion entitlements for 2020 “from May or June next year”.
Also speaking, the State Chairman, Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Chief Waidi Oloyede, appreciated the state government for the gesture.
He praised the governor for accepting to look into the monthly increment, saying that some pensioners collected as low as N5,000 monthly as pension.
Comrade Isa Olude, the state Chairman, Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSON) and Chairman Joint Negotiations Committee, called for the commitment of the parties involved to build trust and avoid misunderstandings.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday and discussed domestic and regional security, and West Africa's democratic backsliding, including Nigeria's handling of anti-police brutality protests last year.
Blinken's trip to Nigeria came days after a leaked report said the Nigerian army fired live rounds at peaceful protesters at a toll gate in Lagos in October 2020 and described the incident as a "massacre".
Blinken said during a joint news conference with Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama that depending on the conclusions of the report, authorities should "hold accountable any of those responsible for human rights abuses, and to do that again in full transparency."
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has repeatedly said advocating for human rights and working to improve democracies around the world is at the heart of its foreign policy, even though critics have said promotion of human rights often takes a back seat to preserve national security priorities.
Buhari, in the first official government comment on the substance of the damning report, told Blinken that his administration would take a lead from state governments which commissioned the report.
"We at the Federal (Government) have to wait for the steps taken by the states, and we have to allow the system to work. We can't impose ideas on them," Buhari said in a statement after meeting with Blinken.
The shootings ended weeks of nationwide protests against police brutality and sparked the worst civil unrest in Nigeria since the return to civilian rule in 1999.
Blinken's three-nation Africa trip started in Kenya, where he reiterated calls for an unconditional ceasefire in the Ethiopian conflict and appealed for a return to civilian democracy in Sudan after last month's coup.
America's top diplomat said he had discussed support to build the capacity of Nigeria's military but in a way that fully respects human rights. Nigeria has been battling Islamist insurgents in the northeast of the country for more than a decade.
Blinken's trip to the region comes at a time when several crises are engulfing the continent, including the war in northern Ethiopia and Sudan's military coup.
He said the United States was deeply concerned by the violence used by the Sudanese military against civilian protesters.
"The military must respect the rights of civilians to assemble peacefully and express their views," said Blinken.
On Friday (today), Blinken will lay out in a speech the Biden administration's policy towards Africa.
Reuters
Nigeria’s economy grew more slowly in the third quarter of the year than it did in the second quarter, according to data from National Bureau of Statistics.
Gross Domestic Product growth rate fell to 4.03 per cent in Q3 from 5 per cent in Q2, Statistician-General of the Federation, Simon Harry, disclosed on Thursday.
He said that during the quarter, aggregate GDP was 45.11tn in nominal terms, an increase of 15.41 per cent over the performance in the corresponding period of 2020.
Harry explained that the base effect of the negative economic growth recorded in Q2 and Q3 2020 as a result of Covid-19 pandemic contributed to the growth in GDP in 2021.
He added that the current growth trend can be sustained with strict adherence to safety measures effected to control the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic and other variants of the disease.
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