News
Nationwide Shutdown: Banks, Electricity, Others to Join ASUU
Many unions and students bodies have decided join the strike in sympathy with Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) from this week, which may lead to a total shut down of their operations, an action capable of exacerbating the precarious economic situation in the country.
Business Hallmark reported that the unions are irked by the government’s lackadaisical attitude to the plight of students whose future are at stake.
Unions including the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP) and the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) have indicated their intentions to shut down airports in solidarity with the striking ASUU.
This is coming even as the National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE) stated last week that it would shut all financial institutions to join the NLC in its solidarity strike over the lingering ASUU strike. ANAP in a statement by Comrade Abdulrasaq Saidu, its general secretary, called on President Mohammadu Buhari to end the strike without further delay.
Recall that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) had penultimate week given notice to its members to embark on a nationwide protest on July 26 and 27 in solidarity with ASUU.
Comrade Saidu had earlier stated that the protracted strike had led to an unprecedented upsurge in social vices by students and in the process, led to a ridiculing of Nigeria’s educational system, making it a laughing stock.
“ASUU, NASU, SAUTHRIAI, NAAT had been on strike for more than four months due to the apparent failure of government to sign the re-negotiated 2009 agreement with ASUU, failure to honour the terms reached in the May 2022 MoU signed with ASUU, and habitual failure of government to respect collective bargaining agreements willingly signed with labour unions.
“Our children are using eight years to read courses of four years with resources being wasted. We cannot continue this way.”
On the same note NUBIFIE in a release by Anthony Abakpa, its national president, and Mohammed Sheikh, general secretary, said “if, after the one-day protest by NLC on this issue nothing is done, the union will have no other option than to call out all our members in banks, insurance and other financial institutions in solidarity with ASUU.”
Also, NAAPE in a statement by Umoh Ofonime, its deputy General secretary, said the refusal of the federal government to honour the agreement signed with the union since 2009 “is very disturbing considering the negative impact the prolonged strike will create in the life of these children.
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) had earlier threatened to join the nationwide strike if the ASUU crisis was not immediately resolved.
The union while expressing worry and concern over the prolonged strikes by university unions, condemned what it called the “lackadaisical attitude” of the federal government towards finding a lasting solution to the crisis.
Williams Akporeha, president of NUPENG, and Afolabi Olawale, general secretary, said the strikes by ASUU, Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) had paralysed universities for months.
The union asked the federal government to “immediately address and resolve all demands of ASUU, NASU and SSANU without any further delay to avert national solidarity actions from our members across the country.
“The rank-and-file members of NUPENG align with the NLC’s position on protest against unfortunate situation in the tertiary education sector and will not hesitate to join in the proposed nationwide strike on the matter,” the union added.
Meanwhile, federal government is making surreptitious moves to break the ranks of the academic union.
The move to decimate their ranks appears to be yielding minimal result as already a breakaway faction of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)- Congress of Nigerian University Academics (CONUA), has dissociated itself from the ongoing strike in Nigerian universities.
In a press release authenticated by‘Niyi Sunmonu, its national coordinator, and Ernest Nwoke, national publicity secretary, CONUA noted that it is not part of its decision to embark on the ongoing strike by ASUU.
The release read in part: “The Congress of University Academics (CONUA) would like to seize this opportunity to announce its independence as a union of academic staff in Nigeria’s public universities. Being a separate and independent union, it has never been part of the decision to embark on the industrial action which has paralysed academic activities in our universities for five months now”.
CONUA said it is of the view that strikes will have a negative effect on the Nigerian university system. It added that the negative effects of the strikes have always been greater than their positive outcomes.
The union stated : “Our strongly-held view is that strikes wreak great havoc on the university system, and the concessions that are earned after every strike, over the decades, have amounted to pyrrhic victories when weighed against the systematic destruction of the local and global image of university education in Nigeria.
“Our preferred alternatives to strikes in resolving industrial disputes, therefore, include constructive engagement and constant dialogue with all stakeholders.”
“As CONUA, we are of the strong belief that strikes should never be a strategy of first recourse. Their deployment should be contemplated only when all other options have failed, and they should not appear to be motivated by a desire to cause maximum damage.”
The union noted that its members continued with academic activities at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife and Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma after the strike declared by ASUU.
“In fact, before the incident which caused the students to be asked to vacate the campus, most of our members had concluded their lectures. Since it wasn’t our members who declared a strike, lumping us together with those who are on strike is therefore patently unfair,” it said.
When the federal government knew that the attempt to break the ranks of ASUU was not yielding needed results it resorted to continue the negotiation but ASUU was not impressed.
In view of this, two weeks ago, President Buhari ordered Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour who has been leading the negotiations with ASUU to step down from ongoing negotiation with the body .
ASUU has on its part has repeatedly blamed Dr. Ngige for allegedly constituting clog in the wheel of the progress of the negotiation towards addressing the crisis.
Buhari gave the directive during a briefing by the heads of the various concerned ministries, departments and agencies of government penultimate Tuesday in Abuja. He also agreed to the suggestion by Adamu Adamu, minister of Education, to take over the negotiations.
Mr. Adamu was said to have cleared the air on the protracted crisis, as he made it known to the gathering the reason behind his prolonged silence on the matter, adding that his labour and employment counterpart had since 2016 argued “that only the labour ministry has the mandate to negotiate with striking workers unions in Nigeria.”
Oladipupo Adebutu, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Ogun State, has alleged that all state governors in Nigeria are benefiting from and misappropriating local government allocations.
Oladipupo Adebutu
Adebutu made the remarks at the Ake Palace in Abeokuta during a meeting with the Egba Traditional Council, where he sought the support and blessings of traditional rulers for his governorship ambition.
He was accompanied by his running mate, Lateefat Sowunmi-Kolapo; the PDP senatorial candidate for Ogun Central, Iyabo Obasanjo; the Ogun State PDP Chairman, Abayomi Tella; and other party leaders and candidates.
Addressing the traditional rulers, Adebutu declared that granting full financial autonomy to local governments would be one of the defining policies of his administration.
“I will do something that will stun this nation and put us in the right direction. Local governments shall get their own money,” he said.
He added: “We must make sure we get local government autonomy. I have been reiterating to you that I, Oladipupo Olatunde, son of Adebutu, was at the National Assembly twice, and I can boast that I didn’t embezzle public funds. How many politicians can say this?”
Adebutu accused governors across party lines of diverting local government funds.
“It’s not a party thing. Both APC and PDP, all the governors are embezzling local government allocations. It’s not a secret,” he said.
He argued that local councils were able to deliver more development when they had greater control over their finances.
On infrastructure financing, Adebutu said governments must adopt new approaches rather than relying on borrowing.
“You don’t borrow money for infrastructure anymore,” he said, while promising to construct roads that would improve connectivity between Ogun State and Lagos.
In his remarks, Abayomi Tella, State Chairman of the PDP, lamented that the local government system in the state is in a state of collapse, recalling that as a former council chairman, he received N200 million as an allocation and used it to construct four roads within his local government.
He expressed concern that the current local government chairmen cannot point to any project of similar impact, attributing the situation to a lack of financial autonomy.
The PDP chairman said he strongly believes in Adebutu’s advocacy for local government autonomy, stressing that Adebutu is prepared and ready to lead the development of Ogun State.
Sowunmi-Kolapo, deputy governorship candidate, called on her kinsmen to support her political aspiration, noting that she has continued to support the development of Egbaland.
Also speaking, Iyabo Obasanjo, PDP candidate for Ogun Central Senatorial District, said that after leaving the APC following her unsuccessful governorship bid, she came to believe that Adebutu has the vision and political will to actualise her aspirations and manifesto for the people.
Obasanjo further noted that no political party has a more formidable team in Egbaland than the PDP, urging Egba monarchs to throw their weight behind the party in the interest of the people.
In his welcome address, the Alake and Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, described Adebutu as “trustworthy and reliable,” declaring his support for the party’s flag bearer ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
The Alake recalled his long-standing relationship with Adebutu’s father and expressed confidence in Adebutu’s character and leadership qualities.
“The son of a lion must resemble the lion. In fact, he is an even better version of his father,” Oba Gbadebo said.
Federal high court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of N941,994,079.86 linked to suspected ghost workers uncovered in the integrated payroll and personnel information system (IPPIS) to the federal government.
IPPIS is a centralised payroll system the federal government introduced to manage the salaries of federal public sector employees.
Binta Nyako, presiding judge, gave the order following an application filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
“That an Order is hereby made for the Final Forfeiture to the Federal Republic of Nigeria the Sum of N941,994,079.86 seized during investigation into the IPPIS Payroll scam in the year 2024,” Nyako ruled.
Okor Odey, ICPC spokesperson, announced the forfeiture in a statement issued at the weekend.
The ICPC spokesperson said investigations by the commission uncovered “large-scale payroll fraud involving hundreds of non-existent public servants, with a total sum of N941,994,079.86 traced to accounts linked to the scheme”.
Odey said a review of the IPPIS conducted in 2023 revealed the “existence of numerous “ghost workers” embedded within the payrolls of several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs)”.
According to him, following the findings, President Bola Tinubu approved a “comprehensive audit” of the IPPIS.
He added that a joint investigation between the ICPC and the office of the accountant-general of the federation in April 2025 led to the discovery of 587 suspected ghost workers on the IPPIS platform.
“Investigations revealed that fictitious IPPIS identities had been created for non-existent personnel across multiple MDAs, with salaries paid over extended periods into accounts belonging to individuals and companies,” Odey said.
“In many cases, the account names did not correspond with those of the purported employees, while some accounts received multiple salary payments simultaneously.”
The ICPC spokesperson said the agency placed post no debit (PND) restrictions on all identified accounts to freeze the funds suspected to be proceeds of fraud.
He said the affected MDAs include the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), federal ministries of defence, education, agriculture and rural development, works, water resources, and interior.
Others are National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Benin, University of Calabar, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, University of Maiduguri, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and the office of the accountant-general of the federation.
The ICPC spokesperson said 120 civil servants were cleared after their identities and employment status were confirmed following a verification exercise in 2025.
He added that 467 bank accounts remain linked to unverified individuals with holders yet to be identified.
He noted that the N941.9 million currently frozen in the 467 bank accounts has been forfeited to the federal government.
He disclosed that the agency published the names of the 910 individuals suspected to have benefited from the purported fraud in two national dailies on March 18, 2026.
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has introduced the Blue Economy Accelerator Programme, a strategic initiative designed to identify, nurture, and accelerate innovative startups that will contribute to the sustainable growth of Nigeria’s marine and blue economy.
The Blue Economy Accelerator Programme is aimed at attracting young, vibrant minds with innovative ideas capable of transforming Nigeria’s maritime ecosystem.
Dr. Dayo Mobereola, Director-General of NIMASA, said that through the initiative, participants will receive structured business development support, industry mentorship, and technical guidance to convert promising concepts into viable ventures that address critical challenges and opportunities within the blue economy.
“The programme reflects NIMASA’s commitment to supporting the implementation of the vision of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy in unlocking the immense potential of the blue economy by empowering young innovators, entrepreneurs, and technology-driven enterprises. We at NIMASA want to provide a platform for investors to identify young talents and invest in them”.
Mobereola, who commended the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola for codifying the Marine and Blue Economy Policy as a clear roadmap for the sector’s development, urged young Nigerians to embrace the programme which has the potential to transform raw talents into big investments in the maritime sector.
Applications are open to startups and innovators developing solutions across several strategic sectors, including marine waste management and the blue circular economy; aquaculture and sustainable fisheries; maritime technology and logistics innovation; ocean energy including wave, tidal, and offshore renewable energy; marine tourism and coastal recreation; marine biotechnology such as, ocean data and analytics; green shipping, including vessel decarbonization; smart port solutions; autonomous marine vehicles; biofouling prevention technologies; and coastal resilience through nature-based coastal defencesolutions.
The first phase of the programme is expected to attract a minimum of 150 high-quality applications from within and outside the country provided they are Nigerian citizens.
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