The Federal Government has agreed to pay an additional N15 billion as revitalisation fund demanded by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, disclosed this on Friday at a press briefing in Abuja, the nation’s capital. He noted that the money to be paid would make it a total of N35 billion committed as revitalisation fund by the government following the payment of N20 billion earlier. Ngige briefed reporters at the end of a meeting with members of the union led by the ASUU President, Professor Biodun Ogunyemi. He described the meeting as a fruitful one, noting that the government has decided to shift grounds on the lingering issues. The minister revealed that the government and ASUU have also reached an agreement on how to pay the withheld salaries of the lecturers. More to follow…

Senate President Ahmad Lawan has challenged Nigerians to vote out the members of the ninth National Assembly in 2023 “if you don’t like us”. Lawan stated this on Friday at a retreat for top management of the National Assembly Service Commission and National Assembly in Abuja. He urged Nigerians to engage in debate as to what the National Assembly means to them rather than dissipate energy on jumbo salaries and allowance of the federal lawmakers. He said: What does the legislature mean to Nigerians. Can we debate properly what the functions of members of the National Assembly and indeed the legislature should be rather than be talking about jumbo pay? “We should be looking for value for money. Without the National Assembly or the legislature across the country, we won’t have democracy anymore. “We need to understand what the National Assembly or the legislature means to Nigerians.” He said the N128 billion budgeted for National Assembly is one percent of N13.08 trillion 2021 national budget. Lawan said Nigerians should instead demand value for money rather than engage in discussion on jumbo pay or closure of the National Assembly. “Instead of trying to see how N128 billion will be utilized by the National Assembly, what will be the outputs and how useful they are to the Nigerian public, Nigerians only argue that the budget should be cut, it is too much. “I’m not defending the National Assembly, but I’m here to encourage debate on what the National Assembly or the legislature means to us as a country and as people. “If you don’t like the set of members of the ninth National Assembly, change all of us in 2023. Get better people but help support the system to function,” he said. The Senate President also lamented inadequacy of legislative aides. Daily Trust reports that each federal lawmaker, aside the presiding officers, is entitled to five legislative aides. “I’m not advocating for more than necessary but what we have today is inadequate. He said the inadequacy of legislative aides placed additional burden on the staff of National Assembly as lawmakers have to rely on them the kind of services they cannot get from their assistants. Meanwhile, Lawan disclosed that the 2021 budget proposal would be passed by the National Assembly in second week of December. He also said the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) will be passed in the second quarter of next year, while amendments to the constitution and the electoral Act will be passed before the end of next year. N/Assembly to introduce e-hansard in 2021 Q1 The Clerk to the National Assembly, Arc. Ojo Olatunde Amos, said the nation’s apex legislative body will introduce e-hansard in first quarter of next year. E-hansard is official records of debates in verbatim form. He said though he inherited an analogue system, where legislators do not have prompt access to hansards, the management would not relent in pursuing the provision of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) materials to digitize the National Assembly. “To reduce papers flying around in the National Assembly, we will introduce e-hansard in first quarter of next year. You will agree with me that e-hansard is the most veritable tool in parliamentary process and practice,” he added. The leadership of National Assembly, he said, was committed to build the capacity of relevant staff, so that its legislative business would be at par with what is obtainable in other part of the world. He expressed optimism that the retreat would impact positively on parliamentary democracy in Nigeria, which, he said, would be meaningless without adequate training and retraining of parliamentary staff. The Director-General, National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Prof Abubakar Sulaiman, said the retreat would provide fresh ideas on how to reposition the National Assembly to be more accountable and efficient in delivering its mandates.

Mrs Amaka Ndoma-Egba, Wife of the former Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba has died in an auto crash along Benin-Akure road. Vanguard learned that apart from losing the wife, earlier this year he also lost his mother in-law ,mother and his former media aide while his house was always vandalized during the #EndSars Protest in Calabar.

The Nigerian government, through the ministry of petroleum resources, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Niger Republic for petroleum products importation. According to a statement released by the ministry, Soraz Refinery in Zinder, Niger Republic, has an installed refining capacity of 20,000 barrels per day compared to the nation’s 5,000bpd domestic requirement. This leaves a surplus of 15,000 barrels per day. Mele Kyari, group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), signed the MoU on behalf of Nigeria while Alio Toune, director-general of Niger Republic’s National Oil Company, Societe Nigerienne De Petrole (SONIDEP), signed on behalf of his country. The signing was witnessed by the ministers of state for petroleum of the two countries, Timipre Sylva for Nigeria and Foumakoye Gado for Niger Republic. “This is a major step forward. The Niger Republic has some excess products which need to be evacuated. Nigeria has the market for these products. Therefore, this is going to be a win-win relationship for both countries,” Sylva said. “My hope is that this is going to be the beginning of deepening trade relations between Niger Republic and Nigeria.” In his remarks, Kyari said the two countries have had long engagements in the last four to five months with a view to restoring the importation of petroleum products (excess production) from Niger into Nigeria. “With this development, we hope to have a long-lasting and sustainable commercial framework to have a pipeline from the Soraz Refinery in Zinder (Niger) into the most proximate Nigerian city so that we can develop a depot. “We are happy that we have reached that conclusion and our two ministers have endorsed this framework. We are also working on a detailed MoU between our two companies so that we can continue the execution process immediately.” Nigeria currently imports refined petroleum products despite having four refineries. As a result, scarce forex is spent to ensure that there is no scarcity in the country. Government officials have expressed hopes that the 350,000 capacity Dangote refinery being constructed will end the era of petroleum products importation in Nigeria.

Newspaper vendors in Abuja have taken to streets to protest the killing of one of their colleagues, Ifeanyi Okereke Elechi. Elechi was hit by a stray bullet from a security aide to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila, on Thursday evening. The Speaker confirmed the incident in a statement released in the early hours of Friday. According to him, Elechi was shot by the stray bullet, which was only intended to disperse a crowd while he was exchanging pleasantries with the newspaper vendors on his was out of the National Assembly. “A horrible incident has taken place. This evening as I left the national assembly, I stopped, as usual, to exchange pleasantries with the newspaper vendors at the corner,” he explained. “Many of them have known me since I first moved to Abuja and it was a friendly exchange. Unfortunately, after the convoy set out in continuation of movement, unidentified men obstructed the convoy which got the attention of security men in the convoy who shot into the air to disperse them.” The lawmaker narrated that some hours after they got to their destination, he was informed that the victim, identified as Ifeanyi had been hit by a stray bullet. He said this was “contrary to an earlier report by men in the convoy that they applied their security discretion to shoot in the air. “In the meantime; the officer who fired the fatal shot has been suspended from the convoy pending the conclusion of the investigation.” While sending his condolences to the family of the deceased, the Speaker expressed distraught about the incident.