ASUU To Decide On Strike Today

ACADEMIC Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) branches are divided over whether to accept the Federal Government’s offer and call off their eight-month-old strike. 

The union will harmonise the positions of zones and branches at a meeting in Abuja today. With some branches insisting that the government must meet all the demands before the strike is called off, the union may put the decision to a vote. 

 The Ahmadu Bello University branch agreed with the government on the N40 billion Earned Academic Allowance (EAA). The branch, however, called for payment of the allowance before the strike will be called off. 

 Lecturers at the Federal University of Petroleum Resources (FUPRE), Delta State, said negotiations with the Federal Government must be concluded before the strike is called off. Ezekiel Agbalagba, chairman of ASUU at the university, said the congress on Wednesday accepted the EAA, but rejected the N25 billion for the revitalization of the varsities.

  According to him, the latest concession by the Federal Government is “an offer”, adding: “Let it land in our purse first.” He added: “We are willing to suspend the strike, but some of those contending issues should be thrashed and thrashed once.” 

 ASUU chapters of the University of Maiduguri, Yobe State University and Federal University Gashua resolved to get a serious commitment from the Federal Government before they call off the industrial action. 

 The Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi (UAM) ASUU voted to continue with the strike action until the Federal Government implements what was offered during the negotiation. ASUU- UAM chapter said both their withheld salaries and sundry allowances must be also paid. 

 A lecturer at UAM, who preferred not to be named, said they voted that the strike should continue until the government fulfills its part of the bargain. ASUU national leadership will receive reports from zonal coordinators, following state congresses. 

 After considering the reports, the leadership is expected to take a position and present it to the Federal Government. A source said some of the congresses voted to call off the strike; others did not. The source said the congresses agreed on the offers presented by the government to the union and with a timeframe to implement some of them. The source added: “All the reports will come in today (yesterday) and we can make a decision on it.” 

Last Friday, the Federal Government agreed with ASUU’s demand for payment of lecturers’ salaries from February to June through the old platform – the Government Integrated Financial and Management Information System. 

The government said the exemption of ASUU from the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) was temporary pending when the university lecturers will complete the development of its payment platform – the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS). 

 After weeks of negotiations, the government offered to raise the EAA from N30billion to N35billion and the revitalization fund from N20billion to N25billion. Cumulatively, the government, through the Accountant-General of the Federation, offered the lecturers N65 billion to call off the strike. 

The government also shifted ground on some issues, including the insistence that all the academic staff of federal universities must be paid through the IPPIS platform. The University of Ilorin (UNILORIN ASUU Chairman, Prof Moyosore Ajao, said the chapter was in alignment with the national body. He said: “Our president will make a pronouncement on our resolution after our meeting tomorrow (today).” 

 A source at the ASUU UNILORIN meeting said the union resolved that “our salaries be paid and must henceforth not be stopped”. “We also resolved that ASUU is not and cannot be on IPPIS,” he added. Chairman of the University of Jos chapter of ASUU, Dr Lazarus Maigoro, said: “We are under a strict directive from the national body not to release our resolutions yet.” 

Sokoto Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Dr Jamilu Shehu, told our correspondent that the zones are expected to make their positions known at the Abuja meeting. 

 Source: The Nation Newspaper

OAU Beats 18 US Schools, Others To Win 2020 AIChE ChemE-Sports Competition

By Emmanuel Dominic

The students of Obafemi Awolowo University have again displayed their academic excellence.  On the 15th of November, a team of students from the department of Chemical Engineering won the 2020 ChemE-Sports Competition in the Virtual Annual students Conference. The team consisted of 4 members; Akinyemi Ifeoluwa, Bello Peace, Sanni Mariam and Akomolafe David, all of whom are part 4 students of the Chemical Engineering Department. 

The Competition was hosted by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Chem-E-Sports. — (AIChE ChemE Sports). AIChE is one of the world leading organisation for chemical engineering professionals, and have more than 60,000 members from over 110 countries.The competition was about operating a simulator for a distillation plant. Competitors were to maximize production profit, safety and be smart enough to fix things that got broken during production in the shortest time possible. Twenty-two schools participated in the Competition, each school was given the window to have 2-4 members in a team. This Conference is hosted yearly, but it was virtual this year due to the Covid 19 Pandemic. 

In an Interview with one the great minds behind the victory; Akinyemi Ifeoluwa, he mentioned that the team was sponsored by an international body. 

"We registered for the competition and then my coursemate contacted me and two other  of my mates last month and he told me he'd like to work with me. The registration fee was $55 per student, and was paid by the International body. So we went on preparing hard towards the competition. We were the only African University in the Competition. And we did  our best to come out on top amongst other university like, University of Virginia, University of Texas,  New Mexico State University. 22 schools participated in the competition. We were scared at first, but after the first and second round, we became confident."

The team won a cash prize of $700 and certificates, while the 2nd and 3rd got certificates only. The Conference is still being held and the prizes of the winners will be delivered to champions soon. 

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200 Level OAU Student Wins N500,000 In NCDMB's Undergraduate Essay Competition

Oluwafela Oluwadamilola Elizabeth, a 200 level medical student of the Obafemi Awolowo University has emerged as the First Runner-up in this year's edition of the NCDMB Annual National Undergraduate Essay Competition. For this, she has been rewarded with a cash prize of N500,000 and a Plaque. 

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) is an agency of government established by the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act. Since 2017, NCDMB has been organizing the annual national oil and gas essay competition. The competition started as a project to encourage writing and the research ability of young Nigerian undergraduates in public and private-owned tertiary institutions in Nigeria. The project also continued as a way to encourage the youths to build local capacities and competencies for effective participation in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas industry.

This year, which is the 4th edition started receiving entries sometime early September. The competition was opened to 100L and 200L students of private and public tertiary institutions. Entrants were required to write on a topic: Research and Development as a Key Lever for Local Content Implementation in Nigeria's’ Oil and Gas Industry.

The participants had to submit a maximum of 1,500 words on or before the 25th of September, 2020. According to the organizers, the contest received over 6000 submissions, which was first cut down to the best 50 and then 10 finalists. The 50-entrant shortlist and the list of the 10 finalists were both published on the competition page. 

The first prize winner, Abasiekeme Edet, a 200 Level Student of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Port Harcourt was awarded a Prize of N1,000,000. The first runner-up being OAU's Elizabeth. The second runner-up prize of N300,000 went to Eze Samson Somtochukwu, a Year 1 Medicine & Surgery Student of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. 4th – 10th place finishers received a laptop each.

Shortly after the prize-giving ceremony which held at the ultra-modern NCDMB headquarters in Yenagoa on Wednesday, 4th November 2020, OAU Peeps News Agency spoke with our champion from OAU, Oluwafela Oluwadamilola Elizabeth. 

Elizabeth said she got to know about the essay on September 4th, 2020. 

"My senior colleague in school sent it to me. I was skeptical about it at first because we might resume soon. I considered all the odds but in the end, I gave it a shot. I faced a lot of challenges because it was the first time I was entering a competition like this. So I did a lot of research online, I read how to write essays. I read a lot of materials, I watched YouTube videos. I studied some facts and figures and programs that would enhance the beauty of my essay and at the end of it, I compiled my information and came up with my essay.

Then about the referencing in my essay, I read on how to add references to an essay. When I was done with my compilation, I submitted and to God's glory, I was among the first 50 that was first shortlisted. I am just grateful to God. Only God could have made me go that far although I put in a lot of effort.

I made it to the third stage of the competition which was a blind assessment. I kept praying to God to favour me. The blind assessment means that the judges wouldn't know who that particular writer is. So, two weeks after the blind assessment, I was among the top 10 finalists. So, I proceeded to the final stage which was an interactive defense session. I was calm, confident, I read my essay thoroughly so, I was prepared for any question. During the defense session, I sat in between a panel of judges, professors, and board members. The defense went well, I was confident, although I was a little shaky, I was able to pass my message and today, I emerged the 2nd.

I feel so great, I'm so happy that I was able to participate. It's not by my power or hard work, it's just God's grace. I'm so grateful that I got a push from that senior colleague, God bless him so much. I'm just so happy," Elizabeth told OAU Peeps News Agency in an exclusive interview. 

The other 6 winners who placed 4th - 10th places include: 

4. UKALIZIBE GWEGWE

5.ACHADU JOSHUA

6.CHIAHANAM NWOBODO

7.CHIBUZOR VICTOR OBIORAH

8.OSATOHAMEN SYLVIA

9.KELVIN ERHABOR

10.GERALD ABAAGU