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ASUU declares indefinite strike in Ondo varsities

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The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA) branch, has declared an indefinite strike over the state government’s alleged failure to implement the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU agreement.

With the development plunging academic activities at the institution into another round of industrial action, the strike comes barely a week after the union suspended an earlier strike called over unpaid salary backlogs, following the receipt of outstanding payments.

The industrial action also extended to Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology (OAUSTECH), Okitipupa, where the union has similarly embarked on an indefinite industrial action over the same issue.

The FGN-ASUU 2025 agreement includes upgraded salary structures alongside a 40 percent salary review for academic staff and payment of accumulated salary arrears, representing a significant financial commitment from the state government.

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Meanwhile, the union has directed all members to suspend all academic activities with immediate effect, including final year defenses, school board meetings, departmental meetings, postgraduate teaching and examinations, marking of examinations, and all other academic activities.

Prof. Boluwaji Oshodi, Chairman of ASUU at AAUA, disclosed the decision on Tuesday in Akure, stating that the union had exhausted all avenues of engagement with the state government before arriving at the resolution.

Oshodi expressed concern over the state government’s reluctance to implement the package, noting that several other state governments across the federation had already commenced implementation of the agreement.

According to the AAUA-ASUU Chairman, the union had given sufficient considerations to the state government through several letters and meeting requests but was met with inaction regarding the main agreement.

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He emphasized that members would not return to the lecture rooms on mere promises or commitments unless concrete actions were taken by the state government.

“The union has just declared an indefinite, total, and comprehensive strike over the non-implementation of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN)/ASUU 2025 agreement. The resolution is that if that agreement is not implemented here, and the arrears from January are not paid, we are not going to resume.”

The union chairman stressed that the academic staff had lost patience with verbal commitments and would only accept reasonable actions from the government.

“We are not ready to listen to anything like commitment again. What we want now is action,” he stated.

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Oshodi questioned the disparity in treatment between Ondo State and other states, pointing to the state’s status as an oil-producing region, emphasizing that “Why will our own be different in Ondo State, an oil-producing state?”

The union leader maintained that while members remained open to dialogue, resumption of work would not precede full implementation and payment of all outstanding entitlements.

“The union is always open, but the truth of the matter is that the implementation must commence, and the arrears from January to date must be paid.”

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Breaking Dangote Refinery stops sales of petroleum products to Matrix, AA Rano, others

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Dangote Petroleum Refinery has indicated that it will no longer sell Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, to major oil marketers that hold valid licences to import the product.

Industry sources said the refinery’s decision is targeted at companies that continue to bring petrol into Nigeria despite the increasing availability of locally refined products.

According to figures cited by Dangote Refinery, imported petrol accounted for about 43 per cent of total PMS supply in July.

The refinery is concerned that the continued influx of imported petrol is reducing the market available to domestic refiners and could undermine investments in local refining capacity.

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Under the new arrangement, Dangote Refinery is expected to prioritise marketers that do not have petrol import licences.

Companies that continue to import PMS under the Federal Government’s approved import regime may therefore no longer be able to purchase petrol directly from the refinery.

Six companies were issued licences by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in May to import PMS. They are Matrix Energy, A.A. Rano, AYM Shafa, NIPCO, Pinnacle Oil and Gas, and Bono Energy.

Such a situation, the sources said, could make it difficult for consumers and regulators to distinguish between Dangote’s products and imported fuel. Any quality-related complaints could consequently affect the refinery’s reputation.

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The refinery has also questioned whether NMDPRA currently has sufficient laboratory capacity to conduct comprehensive testing of imported petrol entering the Nigerian market.

Dangote Refinery’s latest position represents a further escalation of its longstanding concerns over continued petrol imports into Nigeria.

The refinery has previously warned that sustained imports could force it to export more of its refined products rather than incur the high cost of storing unsold petrol locally.

The development could lead to a more divided supply system in the Nigerian downstream oil market, with Dangote Refinery supplying mainly marketers that do not import petrol while licensed importers source a larger share of their products from overseas.

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The development could lead to a more divided supply system in the Nigerian downstream oil market, with Dangote Refinery supplying mainly marketers that do not import petrol while licensed importers source a larger share of their products from overseas.

This could affect the availability of petrol at different depots, demand for imported cargoes and, potentially, pump prices across different parts of the country.

The Federal Government had approved petrol import licences as part of efforts to ensure adequate supply and maintain competition in the downstream petroleum sector. Dangote Refinery, however, maintains that continued dependence on imported petrol could weaken the market for locally refined products and discourage further investment in domestic refining capacity.

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30 Years after: Former Gang Leader ‘Keffe D’ Davis Found Guilty Of Tupac’s Murder

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The conviction of former gang leader Duane “Keffe D” Davis by a Las Vegas jury has reopened an old wound in American popular culture — the 1996 murder of Tupac Amaru Shakur, better known to the world as 2Pac.

For those of us who encountered 2Pac during our secondary school days, his music was more than entertainment. His lyrics spoke of struggle, injustice, poverty, violence, ambition and the contradictions of life.

Decades after his death, his voice remains remarkably alive, particularly among a generation that grew up listening to his songs and debating the circumstances surrounding his death.

He died six days later, leaving behind a career that had barely reached its peak and a murder mystery that would remain unresolved for decades.

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A Las Vegas jury found Davis guilty of first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon in connection with the killing. He was the only person ever charged in the case.

But Davis was not accused of being the man who pulled the trigger.

Instead, prosecutors presented him as the person who orchestrated the attack and supplied the firearm used in the shooting.

That distinction is important.

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The prosecution’s case reportedly leaned heavily on Davis’s own public statements over the years, including admissions he made in his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend. His words, once part of his attempt to tell his own story, ultimately became important pieces of evidence against him.

Under Nevada law, a person who aids and abets a killing can face the same legal consequences as the person who physically pulls the trigger. And unlike many lesser offences, murder does not have a statute of limitations in Nevada.

In other words, time does not automatically erase accountability for the most serious crimes.

How many murder cases remain unresolved because investigators ran out of leads, witnesses remained silent, evidence disappeared or perpetrators simply believed that enough years had passed for the law to forget?

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2Pac’s murder became one of the most famous unsolved killings in modern American popular culture. His fame ensured that the case never completely disappeared from public consciousness.

Fans continued to ask questions. Investigators continued to revisit the evidence. And theories — some credible, others wildly speculative — proliferated for nearly three decades.

This conviction is therefore more than a legal development concerning one defendant.

It is a reminder that unresolved does not necessarily mean forgotten.

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Justice can be painfully slow. Sometimes it takes years. Sometimes decades. And in some cases, it may arrive long after the victim’s family has stopped expecting it.

For 2Pac’s family, friends and millions of admirers around the world, nothing can bring back the young rapper whose life was cut short at 25.

But accountability, whenever it comes, still matters.

There is also a lesson here for societies everywhere: a cold case is not necessarily a closed case.

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Evidence can resurface. Witnesses can eventually speak. Investigative techniques can evolve. And, sometimes, the people who once believed they had escaped justice can become the very witnesses against themselves.

2Pac once rapped extensively about life, death, injustice and survival. Nearly 30 years after his death, his story has once again reminded the world that some questions refuse to die.

Justice delayed may be frustrating. But when justice finally arrives, it still matters.

For Tupac Amaru Shakur, perhaps this conviction represents another step toward closing one of the most enduring chapters in the history of American music and crime.

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Justice delayed, but not denied.

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Just in: Court fires 2027 APC candidate, orders fresh primaries

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The Federal High Court in Gusau, Zamfara State, has sacked Senator Sahabi Ya’u Kaura as the 2027 All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Zamfara North Senatorial District and ordered the party to conduct a fresh primary election.

Justice Hassan Dikko issued the order on Monday after hearing arguments from the parties involved in the case.

The judge directed the APC to organize another primary for the senatorial district within 14 days of the judgment.

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The court’s decision followed a suit filed by APC senatorial aspirant, Dr Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, who challenged the validity of the primary election conducted by the party.

Kaura had emerged as the winner of the APC primary held on May 19, 2026.

He reportedly secured 65,642 votes to defeat other aspirants who participated in the contest.

Among those who contested against him were Shinkafi, Hannafi Musa-Moriki and Tijjani Yahaya.

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The court’s latest ruling has therefore cancelled the result of the earlier primary, meaning Kaura can no longer rely on that election as the party’s candidate for the district.

The APC is now expected to conduct another primary within the 14-day period ordered by the court.

The fresh exercise will provide the aspirants with another opportunity to compete for the party’s ticket ahead of the 2027 general election.

Shinkafi, who took the matter to court, welcomed the ruling and said the decision was a positive development for his legal challenge.

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