Ibe Pascal Arogorn, Owerri The authorities of Imo state university (IMSU) said it will fix resumption date for students by week . Crimefacts.News had reported how varsities were forced to close in march over Coronavirus pandemic and ASUU strike. Speaking in a telephone chat with our reporter, the institution’s public relations officer, Dr Ralf Njoku said the varsity need to put important things in place before resuming. He said, “you know ASUU suspended their strike yesterday, so we are still waiting may be to inform the public . ” But before we do that, we are trying to organise ourselves to clean the compound, clean the classroom and be in line with the COVID-19 protocols because we cannot come back without doing these things. According to Njoku, “we need to provide classroom buckets, thermometers and other safety measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Speaking further, he said by next week the institution will give a clearer picture for resumption date.

…Urges Them To Seek For Independence Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, has charged the judiciary to crave for independence to discharge their functions without intimidation and not just to control budgets. The governor said this is imperative because no government and country can make meaningful progress if the judiciary is not allowed to carry out their functions independently. Governor Wike stated this at the official presentation of 29 brand new Renault Koleos 2020 SUVS to chairmen of the Customary Courts of the Rivers State judiciary at the judiciary complex in Port Harcourt on Wednesday. He maintained that no one can talk about democracy without the rule of law. The judiciary, he stressed, is pivotal in any given society where the rule of law reigns, because it the arm of government saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that there is rule of law. A cross-section of 29 Cars donated to Chairmen Customary Courts in Rivers “If Nigeria wants to move forward, if this country wants development, then we must allow the judiciary to operate independently and do their work.” Governor Wike, has however described as unfortunate the unwillingness of the judiciary in Nigeria to seek for true independence to discharge their functions without harassment and intimidation. He explained that the independence those in judiciary are desirous of seems limited to how they can control their budget and finances. “They’ve always said they want to be independent, but truly speaking, you don’t want to be independent. I have never seen an arm of government that is so afraid, intimidated by other arms of government like the judiciary. I have never seen that in my life. “The independent of the judiciary you are looking for is only for budget. But you are not talking about independence of how you can carry out your job without any influence or intimidation. Independent is more when you are able to carry out your job without anybody influencing you.” The governor disclosed that he has told the Attorney General of the state that there is an urgent need to amend the law to expand the jurisdiction of the Customary Court of Appeal because chieftaincy matters are still being filed at the State High Court. “So we are going to expand their jurisdiction to allow them to take on chieftaincy matters in all the local government.” The governor said the vehicles were given to the Customary Court chairmen to enable them discharge their functions unhindered. The Rivers State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Professor Zaccheus Adangor (SAN) , commended the governor for his unwavering support for the judiciary. He advised the beneficiaries to continue to administer justice expeditiously and more effectively. The President Customary Court of Appeal, Rivers State, Justice C.I. Gabriel-Nwankwo, said the provision of the official vehicles will inspire and motivate the beneficiaries to perform their work. On her part, the Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Adama Iyayi-Lamikanra, said Governor Wike’s commitment to enhance the welfare of judicial officers in the country remains unparalleled. She further said the provision of the additional 29 brand new cars to the chairmen of the State Customary Court has disproved the misconception that the Customary Court suffer neglect. Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association Port Harcourt branch, Prince Nyekwere, said Governor Wike has put the state judiciary in an enviable position since he assumed office in 2015.

After 290 days, the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, on Wednesday, called off the strike embarked on to protest ‘the backlog of unmet agreements between its members and the federal government. “ It is distasteful that the strike, which began as a warning strike on March 9, lasted a total of 9 months and 15 days before it was suspended by the university lecturers. Simply put, ASUU spent 79.23% of 2020 on strike. According to a recent report by Dataphyte, ASUU has embarked on a strike 15 times since the return of democracy in 1999. The union has spent a total of 208 weeks embarking on industrial action. Succinctly put, ASUU has spent 4 years on strike. That is, a full term of an elected administration has been wasted on strike in the last 21 years. ASUU has spent more time on strike than the number of years Umaru Musa Yar’Adua spent as the president of the country. The union spent 22 weeks on strike in 1999, 13 weeks in 2001, two weeks in 2002, 26 weeks in 2003 and two weeks in 2005. It was fair in 2006 and 2008 as the union spent one week each on strike but the lecturers were out of work for 13 weeks in 2007. The pattern continues in 2009 as 17 weeks were spent on strike, 22 weeks in 2010, nine weeks in 2011, 22 weeks in 2013, four weeks in 2017 and 13 weeks in 2018. 2020 witnessed the longest- 41 weeks and 3 days. As disheartening as these figures here, the possibility of another strike in no distant time is more worrisome. Since its formation in 1978, the struggle for a fair wage for university staff, autonomy and proper funding of the university system have remained the main cause of ASUU embarking on strike. Professor Ogunyemi in March said the strike was declared in order to compel the government to implement the outstanding agreements and resolutions of the Memorandum of Understanding [MoU] it signed with ASUU in 2009, 2013 and 2017 as well as the Memorandum of Action [MoA] of 2019. Except for the Nigerian University Pension Management Company [NUPEMCO] Limited that successfully took off, the government has failed to honour all other aspects of the 2019 MoA. Other unfulfilled parts of the agreements include part payment of outstanding arrears of Earned Academic Allowances (EAAs) as well as mainstreaming further payments into annual budgets beginning from 2019. The agreement to send visitation panels to all federal universities, tentatively agreed to commence in March last year, is also outstanding. The hot dispute that later ensued over enrolment of ASUU members on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) later came to overshadow all other aspects of the FG-ASUU dispute. Sadly, it has become a norm for the FG to enter into agreements with universities’ lecturers after days of strike, only to abandon the implementation halfway once the industrial action is suspended. Little wonder, Prof. Ogunyemi, who announced the suspension of the recent strike, after the federal government offered a cumulative N65 billion to the lecturers to address earned academic allowances and revitalisation of universities said the union will monitor the compliance level of the federal government on the concessions it (FG) has made. He warned that the union would return to strike without notice if the government fails in meeting its part of the agreement reached with the university lecturers. This should send a disturbing signal to the major casualties of these reoccurring strikes- students and their parents. Students in public universities, their parents/guardians and Nigeria’s economy are the worst victims each time ASUU goes on strike. The implications of months of idleness are dire- the recent destruction and arsons witnessed in the aftermath of the #EndSARS protest is a clear pointer to this. These constant revolts by lecturers also upturned their academic calendars. The effect of these constant punctuations from strikes on the learning process is better imagined. This contributes to the negative consensus of Nigerian graduates being ill-equipped vis-à-vis Western counterparts. It further exacerbates the recruitment dilemma employer’s face – with many employers claiming that Nigerian graduates are unemployable. Prof. Ogunyemi, who said lecturers sympathised with students, noted that “no amount of sacrifice would be too much to get the matter resolved as long as the government is consistent with its commitments.” The don and his colleagues should express more than sympathy. They should be worried that more than 79% of this calendar year has been wasted on strike. Students have been denied the opportunity to learn and progress in their academic pursuits. Some of them have lost their lives during the period of the strike while there are those unable to return to the classroom. ASUU must devise a more decisive way to get the government to attend to its demands without bastardising the education system the union is trying to protect. It is unfair that four years have been wasted in the last 21 years. In fact, most students are expected to spend four years in the university in accordance with the education system in Nigeria, but reoccurring strikes have made this impossible and frustrating for students, parents and employers. Culled from Daily Trust

A renowned Islamic scholar and former jurist , Ahmed Lemu, died on Thursday. His son , Nurudeen , announced the death on behalf of his family, The Punch reports Nurudeen , however , did not give details of Lemu ’ s death. “ It is with sadness and reverence to Allah that we announce the passing away of our father , Dr . Justice Sheikh Ahmed Lemu OFR, in the early hours of this morning in Minna . Burial arrangements to be announced later , ” he said . Lemu is one of the two Nigerians who have won King Faisal Prize. Born 84 years ago in Lemu in Niger State , the point- blank scholar, jurist , blunt preacher , Imam, exegetic of the Qur’ an , prolific writer, author , publisher, elder statesman , public speaker and President of Islamic Education Trust is a distinguished personality who after 22 years into retirement from the civil service , brought his exceptional qualities to fore when he chaired the Presidential Panel on Post-Election Violence in Nigeria in 2011. Sheikh Ahmed Lemu started his career as a teacher under the Bida Native Authority , Sheikh Ahmed Lemu was a principal of two famous centers of learning in northern Nigeria : the School for Arabic Studies ( SAS ) , Kano; and the Arabic Teachers’ College, Sokoto. He was appointed Grand Qadi of Niger State after the creation of the state in 1976. Details later