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El-Rufai vs NLC: Kaduna Governor comes under scrutiny in aftermath of faceoff with Labour

The Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai has increasingly being in the news lately, as Nigerians continue to scrutinise his claims of being a democrat.

Though Kaduna has always been in the news largely due to insecurity that pervades the State, resulting in mass abduction of students and killings especially in the Southern part of the State, the events of last week, seem to have more than ever, put the former FCT Minister under the spotlight.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) had mobilized workers in Kaduna State for a five-day warning strike to protest the mass sacking of workers by the el-Rufai administration, especially the planned sacking of seven thousand workers from the state’s local government areas workforce.

Though planned by labour to be a total strike that will completely lock down both social and economic activities in the State, Governor el-Rufai did not know how effective and crippling the strike could be until it took off.

True to labour’s plan, Kaduna was shut down! Electricity was gone, banking stopped, transportation both by air and rail halted while workers from every other sector, including health and education stayed away from work, both in the private and public institutions.

Alarmed by the crippling effect of the strike, Governor el-Rufai, though pretending to be unruffled, tagged the NLC and its leaders economic saboteurs and declaring them wanted. He went a step further to order the blanket sack of all nurses in the state from grade level 13 downwards and also threatened to sack lecturers of the state university if they failed to show up for work, among other workers in the state.

For many Nigerians, el-Rufai was simply power-drunk and behaving like an emperor over a conquered territory in a democracy. His actions and utterances before and during the strike, many believed, brought to the fore, his real nature and disposition to governance, wondering how a governor can unilaterally declare leaders of the NLC, especially its President, Ayuba Wabba wanted, and declaring that he would be tried under the Miscellaneous Offences Act.

Related Topics:AFTERMATH ElRufai FaceOff governor Kaduna Labour NLC scrutiny

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ASUU begins indefinite strike in Nigerian varsity

On Thursday, May 2, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) University of Abuja chapter has commenced an indefinite strike.

Dr. Sylvanus Ugoh, Chairman of the Branch, acknowledged the event, saying the resolution was made during a congress meeting held at the institution’s Permanent Site.

Platinumpost reports that members of the UniAbuja chapter of ASUU have been at loggerheads with the outgoing Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abdulrasheed Na’allah and the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman over the processes for the appointment of a new VC.

An advertorial that surfaced in a national daily on March 15, 2024, sought a replacement for Na’Allah.

However, ASUU members, in a conference, rejected the ad, declared it “illegal,” and stated that it was not from the governing council.

Ugoh noted that the Universities Miscellaneous Provision Act 1993 as amended; 2003 and 2012 (Section 3, subsections 1 and 2) empowers only the governing council to advertise the VC’s seat when declared vacant.

“You will recall that the university administration placed an advert on the vacancy of the post of a Vice-Chancellor on Friday 15th March 2024,” Ugoh had said.

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Lagos GDP Hits N41trn – Ranks 7th In Africa

During the ongoing ministerial press briefing to commemorate the first year in office of the second term of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr. Ope George, revealed that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Lagos State has experienced significant growth under the current administration.

Lifestyle Nigeria reports that the GDP has increased from N27 trillion to N41 trillion within a span of four years.

The development highlights the impressive strides that the state has made in its economic development and positions Lagos as a leading contributor to Nigeria’s overall GDP.

According to George, “Over the last couple of years, Lagos had face numerous challenges particularly when COVID 19 and Endsars struck.

“And so we have had a lot of shocks within our system over the last couple of years and with everything going on around the world.

“We are currently riding the curve and we are coming out on a better side. “You hear sometimes when they say Lagos is one of the largest economies in Africa and truly, it’s not static, we will continue to move based on what’s going on in the world.

“As we speak now, I believe that we are currently ranked 7th in terms of GDP in Africa. “We contributed at least a minimum of over 20 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP and you will find that over a period of review, during the first term of Mr Governor, we are moving in the right direction.

“Our GDP has moved from about N27trn to N41 trillion, everything shows that our indices are climbing in the right direction despite all the shocks and all the problems we have witnessed in the past.”

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BREAKING: Alleged Mastermind Of Abuja-Kaduna Train Attack, Moniker Mandi, Arrested – Lifestyle Nigeria

Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force have made a significant breakthrough by apprehending the alleged mastermind behind the violent assault on the Abuja-Kaduna passenger train in March 2022.

The development was disclosed during a press briefing held in Kaduna on Thursday, May 2, 2024, by the Police Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi.