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NLC opens up on police fresh invitation to Ajaero
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has expressed it’s dissatisfaction with a second police invitation extended to its President, Joe Ajaero, and General Secretary, Comrade Emmanuel Ugboaja.
The labour union has described the move as an attempt at intimidation and a blatant witch-hunt by state authorities.
The police, in a letter signed by CP Rufus Alajide on behalf of the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Force Intelligence Department, stated that the latest invitation was part of an ongoing investigation into allegations of criminal intimidation, malicious damage to property, and conduct likely to cause a breach of public peace.
In response, Comrade Benson Upah, NLC’s Head of Information and Public Affairs, reaffirmed the union’s commitment to lawful conduct.
“Labour is a law-abiding organisation, and the president and the general secretary, who have been invited, are also law-abiding citizens,” Upah stated.
He dismissed the accusations against the union leaders, asserting that, “This is a clear case of witch-hunt and intimidation using the institutions of the state.”
Upah expressed concern over what he perceives as a deliberate agenda to target and silence the NLC. He pointed to the repeated invitations and a recent raid on the NLC office as evidence of this campaign.
“This invitation, coming on the heels of the last one, clearly suggests a manifest intent by the state; it is so obvious. Those who were initially in doubt can now see that we never acted in breach of the law,” Upah said.
He condemned the raid as “a violation of our rights and an act of impunity intended to scare, harass, and intimidate.”
Despite the mounting pressure, Upah assured that the NLC would not succumb to intimidation.
While he refrained from outlining the union’s next steps, he made it clear that the harassment would not go unchallenged.
“Even if we are in a police state, this harassment cannot continue indefinitely. I want to assure you of this,” he said.
The fresh summons comes shortly after Ajaero had complied with a previous police invitation over allegations including criminal conspiracy, terrorism financing, treasonable felony, subversion, and cybercrime.
The repeated actions have drawn criticism from labour unions and civil society organisations, who argue that the government is “determined to silence dissenting voices within the labour movement”.
News
BUNKERING: Army, Tantita Security Arrest Truck Laden with Illegally Extracted Crude Oil in Delta
A joint team comprising officers of the 181 Battalion, Nigerian Army, Oleh, and personnel from Tantita Security Services Nigeria Ltd. has arrested a vacuum truck involved in illegal crude oil extraction at Well 3, Olomoro, in Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State.
According to reports, the truck, which previously belonged to Engr. Daniel Omoyibo, also known as Damotech, was gifted to the driver, Mr. Matthew Ojomikre, who is currently being detained at the Forward Operating Base (FOB), 181 Battalion, Oleh.
Upon interrogation, the driver confessed that his company had been contracted by Heritage Energy Operational Services Ltd. to evacuate sludge from Well 3, Olomoro. However, he was unable to provide any formal approvals or documentation authorizing the activity, as was previously the norm.
Until recently, Heritage Energy Operational Services Ltd. had consistently provided crude and condensate trucking permits to officers of the Nigerian Army and Tantita Security Services Nigeria Ltd. for proper monitoring from the loading point to the discharge location.
Officers of Tantita Security Services, in collaboration with a team from Heritage and the Nigerian Army, have collected samples from the vacuum truck for laboratory testing and analysis.
The preliminary confessional statement from the driver indicates that he illegally collected crude oil from Well 3 under the pretense of evacuating sludge from the wellheads.
Authorities have reported that the same truck has previously been involved in unauthorized crude oil evacuations within the Isoko axis.
The driver, the truck, and its contents remain in custody at the 181 Battalion Base in Oleh for further interrogation and possible prosecution.
The Universal Basic Education Commission on Tuesday announced plans to introduce a new template for disbursing counterpart funds under the Universal Basic Education programme.
This was disclosed by the Executive Secretary of the commission, Aisha Garba, during an interactive workshop with State Universal Basic Education Boards in Abuja.
Garba explained that the Federal Government, through UBEC, had recently restructured the delivery of basic education nationwide to align with four strategic pillars aimed at improving access and quality across states and the Federal Capital Territory.
She identified the pillars as expanding access to basic education, especially for rural and underserved populations; enhancing the quality of teaching and learning nationwide; strengthening accountability and the effective use of education financing; and optimising monitoring and institutional systems for quality service delivery.
She said, “The Hope Education Project of the present administration is a performance-for-reward initiative designed to support states that judiciously utilise resources in line with these four pillars.”
She added that the new approach had made it necessary to develop fresh templates that will guide SUBEBs in preparing work plans to access UBE intervention funds under the framework of the Hope Education Project.
Also speaking at the event, UBEC’s Deputy Executive Secretary for General Services, Tunde Ajibulu, described the workshop as timely and essential.
He stressed that the realignment of basic education delivery made the introduction of the new templates crucial.
“We expect you, as implementers of basic education in your respective states, to contribute positively and help develop workable templates,” Ajibulu said.
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