Intels Sacks 600 Workers In Rivers, Warri

Labour demands recall within 7 days, as workers down tools

By Victor Ahiuma-Young

Intels Services Nigeria Limited has terminated the employment of no fewer than 600 workers in Rivers and Warri operational areas after it recently declared 30 workers redundant.

In a swift reaction, Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN, Wednesday, gave the management of Intels a seven-day ultimatum to withdraw the sack letters and recall the affected workers or face total shut down of its operations nationwide.

Vanguard gathered that the affected workers were mostly employees of Associate Maritime Services, AMS, a subsidiary of Intels, reportedly sacked three days ago leading to industrial unrest by aggrieved workers since Monday.

In a letter of ultimatum to the Managing Director, Intels Nig. Ltd, Onne Port, Rivers State, Secretary-General of MWUN, Felix Akingboye, said: “Over the years the welfare benefits of your employees (Intels Nig. Ltd.) and that of your subsidiary Company, AMS, has always been the product of joint negotiation between your Management and the Union.

“In other words, the employees of the Principal (Intels Nigeria Ltd) and its subsidiary, AMS, enjoy the same welfare benefits.

“Recently, your management declared about 30 of its employees redundant and the Union was duly consulted, and a joint communiqué between management and the union was issued after due negotiation.

“Regrettably, however, we are informed that your management has terminated its contract with AMS which has led to over 600 workers (who are our members) being declared redundant without due recourse to the Union for the negotiation of their terminal benefits.

“Letters of termination/redundancy, we are informed, had already been served on the workers. This unfair labour practice is not acceptable to us.

“I have been directed to issue your management with a seven-day notice effective from the date of this ultimatum, within which to withdrawal all the letters of termination/redundancy served on the workers and recall them to duty, otherwise we shall be compelled to withdraw our services from your terminal at the expiration of the notice.”

The union added that “we demand that status quo ante should remain, pending when a management/Union meeting is convened to negotiate their exit and payment of terminal benefits.”

#vanguard

Enugu Assembly Laud State Government Rural Development Strides


Enugu State House of Assembly’s Committee on Works and Infrastructure has expressed satisfaction at the state government development strides in 17 Local Government Areas project of the state.

The Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Chima Obieze, made this known in Enugu on Wednesday while briefing newsmen at the end of Project inspection tour of the Igbo-Etiti and Uzo-Uwani Local Government Councils.

Obieze said that the contractors handling projects in the council areas were working in line with the project specification approved by the state government.


The lawmaker said that the projects being executed would last for the benefiting communities considering the quality of materials used for the projects.

He however, expressed reservations over inability of some contractors in the Local Government areas to finish and deliver their projects at stipulated time, urging them to fast track the working.

“We have been able to cover Igbo-Etiti, where we inspected very beautiful RAMP project done by this administration. We are impressed with what we saw in Igbo-Etiti.



“There is no gainsaying that Comag Steel Construction Company did very wonderful job in the Achara – Ohodo Road. That project is indeed commendable.

“We visited Type III primary Healthcare Centre in Ukehe in Igbo-Etiti. That project is also a wonderful one, well finished and well handled.

“We encourage other contractors doing primary healthcare centre projects to please go and look at Igbo-Etiti and Udenu as standard of what they should do.

“This is because some of them were not doing so well. But we will still invite those who are not doing well and see how they can remedy the defects,” Obieze added.

In their separate remarks, the chairman of Uzo-Uwani Local Government Council, Mr.Chukwudi Nnadozie and that of Igbo-Etiti, represented by the Secretary to the Local Government, Mr. Johnkennedy Agu thanked Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for remembering their areas in his developmental agenda.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Projects inspected include, St. Mary’s Road in Ezi-Ukehe, Achara-Ohodo Road, Ukpabi-Nimbo-Ugbene Ajima Road, Type III Primary Healthcare Centres in Uvuru and Ukehe and Nkpologu-Uvuru-Ukpata-Adaba Road.(NAN).

#orientdailynews

NSCDC Nabs 4 Over 400 Missing Mattresses Meant For IDPs


The Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) in Niger, has arrested four suspects for allegedly buying 400 mattresses meant for distribution to Internal Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the state.

The Commandant of the corps, Haruna Zurmi, disclosed this while parading the suspects before newsmen in Minna on Wednesday.

Zurmi said the command had received intelligence report on Sunday that some mattresses, suspected to be palliatives from the state government, had been diverted.




“We swung into action immediately by trailing the movement of the trucks, thereby identifying the buyers and their locations,” he said.

He said that the command, through monitoring and intelligence, was able to recover 400 mattresses and arrested four suspected dealers at different locations in Minna, the state capital.

The commandant explained that the ssuspects had already admitted that they bought the items from some government officials.

Zurmi said that the suspects and their collaborators would be arraigned before the court after full investigation. (NAN).

#orientdailynews

Police Arrest Man For Bathing Wife With Acid

The police in Uyo says they have arrested a man for bathing his wife with acid at Mbiakpan Ikot Edim in Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom.

Spokesperson for the Police Command in Akwa Ibom, SP Odiko Macdon, said in a statement that the suspect was arrested through their operatives at ‘D’ Division, Itam, in conjunction with some youths of Mbiakpan Ikot Edim.

“Investigation revealed that the suspect poured raw acid on his wife, one Margaret Okon-Abasi Etim, aged 40, on Friday, while she was sleeping, which led to her death,” he said.




Macdon said that investigation was still ongoing to determine the reason behind his action.

The police spokesman said that the suspect had confessed to the crime during interrogation.

“During interrogation, the suspect confessed to the crime and the suspect will be charged to court at the completion of investigation,” Macdon said.

Macdon appealed to spouses to resolve family issues amicably rather than resorting to violence, adding that the command would not relent in apprehending and prosecuting offenders. (NAN)

#orienrdailynews

Experts Draw Roadmap For Business Education Growth, Dev’t In Nigeria

Business education growth and development in Nigeria for effective students skills acquisition, employability and self reliance on graduation were the crux of the 32rd Annual National Conference organised by the Association of Business Educators of Nigeria (ABEN).

The 2-day conference themed, ‘Organising and Managing Business Education in Nigeria’, was held in Awka, the Anambra state capital, and attracted business education scholars, students and other notable academics across the country, Orient Daily reports.



Speaking during the conference, the Keynote Speaker and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics) from University of Uyo, Prof. Enoidem Usoro, noted that it had become desideratum to reassess the efficacy of business education programme, regretting that most graduates failed to acquire the needed skills upon graduation.

Cross section of participants at the conference

According to her, coronavirus pandemic and concomitant restiveness in Nigeria need urgent attention and business educators cannot afford to be left behind.
“As business educators, we must think outside the box. We need to rethink and chart a new course for business education programme in Nigeria by ensuring we employ emerging method of delivery via virtual environment for better skill acquisition and development.


“We need to reappraise what business education in Nigeria is to ensure that business educators and graduates remain competitive, as well as to cope with challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic.
“There is lack of or inadequate instructional equipment and laboratory tools resulting in many graduates of business education roaming the street with their certificates looking for white collar job for obvious failure to acquire sufficient and entrepreneurial skills to establish businesses of their own”.



Calling on the government to urgently address the infrastructural decay in business education programme, the keynote speaker harped on the need to to harmonise the curriculum structure of the programme in universities; while expressing optimism that the conference would do justice in addressing the issues and offer realistic solutions. She, therefore, charged business educators to be committed and ensure professionalism in their day-to-day teaching activities.




Also speaking, the Lead Paper Presenter, Prof. Christian Oduma, from Ebonyi State University, Abakiliki, urged business educators to ensure adequate preparations and quality instruction to enable students acquire requisite skills and attitude that would help them have competitive advantage over their peers.

He called for review of business education programme to meet with the challenges and realities on ground, noting that there can never be any effective teacher without good curriculum.


In an address, Prof. Chika Madu Ile, ABEN national president, said the annual conference was aimed at providing desirable platforms for experts to converge and rub minds on critical issues bothering on business education curriculum and practices, business and entrepreneurship skills with view to proffering solutions.



According to him, the issues are ignited by changes in technology, the environment, the workplace, work demands, and the dynamism of the society.

Speaking on the theme, the national president said, “business education programme need to be properly organised and managed so that it can fulfill its mandate of ensuring that students are properly guided through carefully planned experiences that will offer them the opportunity to master knowledge, skills and attitudes needed not only to succeed in business but also have equal opportunity to succeed in life”.

Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Prof. Charles Esimone FAS, while declaring the conference open, described the theme as very apt, emphasising the need to impact skills on business education students to enable them become self independent.


Esimone, represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Prof. Frederick Odibo, disclosed that his administration was already building edifice structure for the vocational education in the university, while reassuring his unflinching support to ABEN.


In a vote of thanks, the chairperson of local organising committee (LOC), Prof. Comfort Okolocha, urged participants to use the opportunity of the conference to develop framework for efficient content delivery, as well to enrol in self developmental courses. This, she said, would help business educators better equipped to impact life-long skills.

Highpoint of the 2-day conference was the investiture and conferment of ABEN Honorary Fellowship Award to the Unizik Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Charles Esimone, FAS. The National Executive Council of ABEN, had earlier paid a courtesy call on the vice-chancellor prior to the commencement of the conference.


#orientdailynews

Clerics Seek Support For Newly Established Police Outfit SWAT

Some two clerics have urged Nigerians to support the newly-established police outfit, Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) in order to succeed in the fight against dangerous crimes in the country.


Pastor Yohanna Buru,the General Overseer of Christ Evangelical and Life Intervention Ministry, Sabon Tasha, Kaduna, made the call in an interview with newsmen in Kaduna on Wednesday while reacting to the emergence of the new outfit.
He said that the concern of Nigerians should be toward ending the increasing killings, terrorism, kidnappings, armed robbery among other crimes that are bedeviling the country.


“We have sat and discussed with some religious leaders, so we agreed; we are calling on all Nigerians to support the new SWAT to reduce insecurity in our country and restore peace and sanity in all the geo-political zones,” he said.





Buru emphasised on the need for every Nigerian to pray for the success of SWAT which is to defeat terrorism and all forms of criminal activities across the country.
He said that Northern Nigeria was the worst hit by insecurity, hence the need to deploy many of the SWAT team to the region so as to combat crime and other security challenges in the area.


Baru called on traditional title holders, religious leaders, women and youth organisations to always support in ensuring peaceful co-existence in their areas.


Also reacting to the creation of SWAT, Malam Gambo Abdullahi, a Muslim community leader, called on the 19 Northern states to support the outfit with all the necessary assistance to defeat kidnapping, armed robbery, cattle rustling, and other insecurity in the region.


Abdullahi appealed for total support and prayers for SWAT’s success and victory by all stakeholders including members of the National Assembly from all the 36 States in the country.(NAN)

#orientdailynews

Unlawful Land Seizure: Ex-Army General Loses N8bn Suit


The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday, dismissed a suit filed Maj.-Gen. AbdulRauf Tijani (rtd) against the Lagos Government and six others over alleged unlawful seizure of his expanse of land in the state.

Justice Inyang Ekwo, in a judgment, dismissed the suit on the grounds that it constituted a gross abuse of court process and defective in nature and contents.However, the ex-army chief told newsmen shortly after the judgment that a notice of appeal would be immediately filed to challenge the decision of the court.Justice Ekwo held that the case of the plaintiff ran foul of Section 63 of the Federal High Court Act having been instituted against a serving judge of the court in the discharge of his judicial duties.

The Judge held that immunity granted a serving judge in the course of judicial function was not ambiguous, adding that when such judge erred, the appropriate place for remedy was not a law court.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that respondents in the suit are the Lagos Government, National Judicial Council (NJC) and Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court,Others include the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA); former Lagos Attorney-General, Abdulraheem Ipaye; a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Mr Kasheem Adeniji and Governor of Lagos.


Gen. Tijani had challenged the alleged injustice perpetrated against him by officials of the states.The plaintiff specifically challenged the alleged sabotage of the execution of a court judgment which returned his landed property in Lagos to him.NAN reports that the retired army general had urged the court to intervene in the matter because a judgment entered in his favour had been criminally sabotaged allegedly by the Lagos authority in connivance with the Federal High Court judge.

Gen. Tijjani, although not a lawyer, argued his case himself and prayed the court to look into the justice of his case, adding that what was before him was criminal in nature and not ordinary misconduct of a judge.

He alleged that after a Federal High Court in Lagos entered judgment in his favour in the suit, the judge, in connivance with the then Lagos attorney general, took the case file to a Lagos High Court which he accused of now sitting as an Appeal Court over the Federal High Court’s judgment.



He urged the court to assume jurisdiction because both the leadership of the NJC and the Federal High Court were based in Abuja.In his fundamental human rights suit, he prayed Justice Ekwo to order Lagos Government and the governor to pay him a cumulative compensation of N8 billion as damages for alleged injustice suffered in the hands of Lagos officials.

In the suit with number FHC/ABJ/CS/690/2020, the plaintiff also asked the judge to compel the NJC to pay him another sum of N100 million for alleged misconduct of Justice A. O. Faji during the hearing of his matter.He also asked the court for an order for the trial of Justice Faji for allegedly perverting the course of justice in his case.Besides, General Tijjani prayed the court to compel the Chief Justice of Nigeria to remove the rank of SAN on Mr Kasheem Adeniji and further de-bar him for alleged act of misconduct.

In a 19-paragraph affidavit in support of the suit, he averred that a former Attorney General of Lagos, Abdulraheem Ade Ipaye, now Deputy Chief of Staff to the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, allegedly converted his landed property in Shasha-Akowonjo Area in Alimosho Local Government of Lagos to his personal gain.

He said as a result, he approached a Federal High Court and got judgment in his favour on Jan. 31, 2014.The plaintiff, however, said that the judgment could not be executed because of the alleged sabotage on the part of Lagos officials.He claimed that his case got worse when his personal lawyer, Mr Kasheem Adeniji, SAN, was appointed Attorney General of Lagos and subsequently became an interested party in the matter.

However respondents in the suit, except 3rd (NBA) and 6th (Adeniji) respondents, all urged the court to dismiss the suit for lacking merit and being largely defective.

They further urged the court to dismiss the suit for being vague, contrary to the rules of fundamental rights suits and lack of jurisdiction.While Suleiman noted that the plaintiff did not present any document showing how his rights were breached by the 1st defendant, he argued that the plaintiff ought to know where to go to if he has complaint against any judicial officer.

Da’agba on his part argued that the Federal High Court cannot sit in judgment over itself, just as Akinboro noted that the suit was statute barred because the alleged act occurred in 2018 whereas the suit was filed in 2020.Okutepa in his submissions for the 5th, 7th and 8th respondents described the suit as an abuse of court process as it failed to show any cause of action.Justice Ekwo, who aligned with the respondents’ arguments, subsequently dismissed the suit.(NAN)

#orientdailynews

Enugu Assembly Laud State Government Rural Development Strides


Enugu State House of Assembly’s Committee on Works and Infrastructure has expressed satisfaction at the state government development strides in 17 Local Government Areas project of the state.

The Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Chima Obieze, made this known in Enugu on Wednesday while briefing newsmen at the end of Project inspection tour of the Igbo-Etiti and Uzo-Uwani Local Government Councils.

Obieze said that the contractors handling projects in the council areas were working in line with the project specification approved by the state government.


The lawmaker said that the projects being executed would last for the benefiting communities considering the quality of materials used for the projects.

He however, expressed reservations over inability of some contractors in the Local Government areas to finish and deliver their projects at stipulated time, urging them to fast track the working.

“We have been able to cover Igbo-Etiti, where we inspected very beautiful RAMP project done by this administration. We are impressed with what we saw in Igbo-Etiti.



“There is no gainsaying that Comag Steel Construction Company did very wonderful job in the Achara – Ohodo Road. That project is indeed commendable.

“We visited Type III primary Healthcare Centre in Ukehe in Igbo-Etiti. That project is also a wonderful one, well finished and well handled.

“We encourage other contractors doing primary healthcare centre projects to please go and look at Igbo-Etiti and Udenu as standard of what they should do.

“This is because some of them were not doing so well. But we will still invite those who are not doing well and see how they can remedy the defects,” Obieze added.

In their separate remarks, the chairman of Uzo-Uwani Local Government Council, Mr.Chukwudi Nnadozie and that of Igbo-Etiti, represented by the Secretary to the Local Government, Mr. Johnkennedy Agu thanked Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for remembering their areas in his developmental agenda.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Projects inspected include, St. Mary’s Road in Ezi-Ukehe, Achara-Ohodo Road, Ukpabi-Nimbo-Ugbene Ajima Road, Type III Primary Healthcare Centres in Uvuru and Ukehe and Nkpologu-Uvuru-Ukpata-Adaba Road.(NAN)


#orientdailynews

Chief Nwabueze Nnamani, Executive Chairman of Nkanu West LGC. Enugu State.