Michael Ojuroye Initiative (Ngo)

ASUU president, Fagge Indications have emerged that the  Academic Staff Union of Universities may call off the over four-month-old strike on Thursday. Barring a last-minute change, the National Executive Committee of ASUU will meet on Wednesday night to consider the position of the congresses of the over 50 public universities on the offer made by the Federal government to revamp the institutions. The  union met with  a Federal Government team led by President Goodluck Jonathan last Tuesday in Abuja. The  ASUU leadership, after briefing the zonal coordinators  on  the offer, had directed the local branches   to organise  congress meetings between Friday last week and Tuesday (tomorrow). This is to enable all the lecturers to make input into the action the union would take after its NEC meeting on Thursday. However, feelers from most universities that had organised their congresses revealed that ASUU  would suspend the strike afte...

Spanish police say they have arrested 25 people in a sex-trafficking ring that brought women from Nigeria to work as prostitutes. The women, allegedly lured with the promise of good jobs in Europe, were first flown to Mexico or Brazil, travelling on false identity documents. From there, they were flown to Paris, then smuggled into Spain to work in the sex trade, police say. Five women who were victims of the sex ring were freed in the raids. Police found one member of the gang performing an abortion on one of the five women, reports the BBC. Arrests were made across Spain – in Madrid, Toledo, Cantabria and Palma de Mallorca. More than 100 vans concealing luxury goods were also seized. The gang used the vans to launder their profits and send them back to Lagos, police say. The vans, with dark-tinted windows and welded doors, were stocked full of beer but had luxury items hidden deeper inside. Goods worth an estimated 5m euros (£4.1m; $6.6m) were found in 94 vans seized in Madrid a...

Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has inaugurated the state executive council. At the ceremony on Monday, he swore into office 18 commissioners, special advisers and senior special assistants. Okorocha charged the new commissioners to always reflect the good image of the administration and stay committed to the ideals of his ‘Rescue Mission’ agenda. The Imo State governor warned that the last lap of his tenure was going to be a busy one, adding that he would tolerate indolence. The commissioners thanked the governor for the opportunity to serve in his administration and for the confidence he had reposed in them by their appointment. Speaking on behalf of the appointees, the Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Chike Okafor, promised the governor that the new commissioners would serve as the prime drivers of the ‘Rescue Mission’ philosophy. “We assure Imo people that the remaining lap of the administration will witness aggressive people-oriented developments and tangible democracy di...

Ekpenyong Ita As parts of its measures to curb the threat posed by terrorists across the country, the State Security Services, SSS, has deployed advance technologies and improved human capacity development to achieve its goal of protecting Nigeria cities. The Director-General of the State Security Service, Ekpenyong Ita who disclosed this at the graduation ceremony of the Executive Intelligence Management Course for 47 participants at the Institute for Security Studies, Lower Usuma Dam, Bwari, weekend in Abuja, assured that the Service remained steadfast in her determination and commitment to proactively identify and neutralise security threats. Ita while speaking at the graduation ceremony with theme, “Year 2020: The Challenges of Security Sector Synergy in the Democratic Culture”, said applications of these technologies and human capacity development is already achieving desired result on national security as the relevant agencies have prevented Boko Haram from operating in c...

A 26-year-old man, Rafiu Idowu, is being detained by the Osun State Police Command for allegedly killing his 10-year-old cousin, Tawa Bilawu, after he allegedly raped her. Idowu who confessed to have committed the offence, said the victim lured him into raping her when she paid a visit to him at his family residence at Ile-Ogbo in Ayedire Local Government Area of the state. The Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, for the state Police Command, Mrs Folashade Odoro, said the suspect, who is currently in Police custody, was arrested by a team of detectives from the State Criminal Investigations Department, SCID, led by the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mr Mohammed Jimoh. According to the PPRO, the suspect who recently returned to the state from Lagos also smokes indian hemp. The police claimed the suspect admitted that the deceased was his relative who pays him regular visit at his residence, adding that the late Bilawu was known to every member of his family. The suspect said...

D"banj and Wande Cole Dapo ‘D’banj’ Oyebanjo has re-signed a multi-million Naira brand endorsement deal with Globacom Nigeria, according to Nigeria Entertainment Today. A source says the Pop star has inked his second endorsement deal with the Nigerian telecommunications company after weeks of deliberations. D’banj who had once been an ambassador of the telecom giant three years ago, now joins the likes of heavyweight contemporary musicians PSquare as well as recently unveiled ambassadors Naeto C, M.I, Lynxxx, Bez, Burna Boy, Flavour, Waje, Omawumi, and little known Chee. Wande Coal however made his more public by twitting about the latest deal, joined the tall list of  Globacom ambassadors. ‘Thank you to God the almighty & big thank u to my faithful fans for all your support through the years.I’m the newest Glo Ambassador in Town‘, he tweeted. Wande has parted ways with former record label Mavin Records and launched his very own outfit Black Diamond Entertainment. Exact ...

The debate on why President Goodluck Jonathan chose this time to bring up the national conference issue will continue even beyond his reign, whether the outcome meets the expectations of the people or not. The generally held view that it is better to jaw-jaw, than to war-war applies here. As long as there is an open line of communication between parties, there is hope. It is said that ‘little drops of water makes a mighty ocean’. Even if decisions arrived at are not ratified by the required authorities, relationships would have been formed across boards that will serve as foundations for future co-operation. At least, the people will get to understand better the mindsets of their counterparts from other parts of the country. Understanding is the key; by the time we begin to understand ourselves better, the barrier of communication will be  broken and mutual acceptance becomes practicable. What I am trying to express here is that the national conference is a win-win situation fo...

As part of the efforts to ensure the successful implementation of road management policy in Nigeria, the Federal Government is set to adapt the South African model of tolled road management. Mr. Abdulrasaq Oyinloye, Managing Director of the Infrastructure Bank, stated this in Abuja at the opening ceremony of a training programme on tolled roads and road management.  Oyinloye said the bank is collaborating with the Development Bank of South Africa, DBSA, to organise a two-day training for stakeholders in the road sector. According to him, South Africa has been in the road management for the past 20 years and it is good Nigeria learn from them to reinvent the wheel.  Oyinloye said the training, entitled Tolled Roads and Road Management: A Sustainable Approach, was aimed at bringing the stakeholders in the sector on the same page. He said this would enable them have a clear and common understanding. of issues and dynamics, surrounding, financing, construction, operation and m...