News headlines for the 25th of March 2021.

FG plans Abuja federal secretariat repairs for N8.1bn

• THE Federal Government has approved N8.1bn for the rehabilitation of the Federal Secretariat, Phase I, in Abuja.
• The decision was taken on Wednesday at the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council presided over by the President, Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
• The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mohammed Bello, disclosed this to State House correspondents at the end of the meeting.
• The secretariat, located in the Three Arms Zone, was said to have been inaugurated in 1993.
• In addition, he said the council approved the revised estimated cost of the contract for the construction of a 15-kilometer left hand service carriage way of the outer service of the outer Southern Expressway, stage II at N11,476,424,350.
• The minister further disclosed that other projects approved by the council include those for the total overhaul of a 1,500 KVA generating plant for the Abuja Environmental Protection Board at the cost of N110m; an upward review of contract sum for the extension of the inner Southern Express Way in the sum of N47.6bn as well as the review of the consultancy provision for the Independence and Constitution Avenue in the Central Business District of Abuja, at the cost of N131.4m.

Edo varsity lecturers condemn colleagues as ASUU begins strike today

• The Congress of University Academics, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, has disassociated itself from the proposed strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities in the institution.
• The university’s chapter of ASUU had last Tuesday said it would embark on strike from the midnight of today (Thursday) upon the conclusion of the ongoing examinations.
• However, a statement issued by Chairman and Secretary of CONUA, Iyawe Hanson and Nwoke Ernest, respectively, and made available to newsmen in Benin on Wednesday, said an industrial action at this point in time was insensitive to the plight of students, whose parents managed to pay their fees.

JAMB plans June 5 for exams, begins registration, makes NIN mandatory

• The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, on Wednesday, announced the commencement of registration for the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination and Direct Entry.
• The organization, however, said for any person to be registered for the UTME/DE, such candidate must supply their National Identity Number.
• The Head, Public Affairs and Protocol, JAMB, Dr Fabian Benjamin, made the announcement in a statement in Abuja.
• The Governing Board of JAMB met at its meeting of March 22, 2021 and decided that for any person to be registered for the UTME/DE, he/she must supply his/her NIN. It is, therefore, mandatory for participation in the 2021 registration exercise
• Registration will start on Thursday, April 8 to Saturday, May 15, 2021, candidates are also to note that the registration for the DE applicants will run concurrently with that of the UTME candidates. There will be no extension of time for the sale of the UTME/DE application documents. Optional mock will be held on Friday, April 30, 2021 (for those who indicate interest and register before April 24 2021).
• He added, that the exam will hold from Saturday, June 5 to Saturday, June 19, 2021. The venue of the examination will be at any of the centers in the candidate’s chosen examination town.
• The registration fee for the 2021 application documents is N3,500 and N500 for the recommended reading text.

Gov Abiodun pays N500m gratuity to Ogun retirees

• Gov. Dapo Abiodun of Ogun, on Wednesday, paid a total sum of N500 million to some state and local government retirees.
• Presenting cheques to the retirees at Cultural Centre, Abeokuta, the governor apologized on behalf of the past administration for the delay in the payment of their gratuities.
• The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the governor had, in an agreement between government and labour leaders, promised to be paying N500 million quarterly as gratuities to the pensioners.
• Abiodun, who noted that many of the payments were inherited liabilities from the past government, assured that the process of paying the gratuities had started and would definitely continue.

Exporters fault cargo suspension at Lagos ports

• Nigerian exporters have expressed their disappointment with the Nigerian Ports Authority’s temporary suspension of export at the Lagos Ports Complex and the Tin Can Island Port for a period of two weeks.
• The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Hadiza Bala-Usman, in a radio program on Monday said the authority had a backlog of 600 trucks on truck access roads hence the decision to move in that direction.
• Bala-Usman explained that suspension did not affect export of refrigerated cargo and trucks whose operators had secured call up tickets as of Friday, March 19, 2021.
• Responding to the move, the Chairman of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture, Export Group, Kola Awe, said exporters were not happy with how the NPA abruptly stopped export cargo movement explained that exporters were reeling in losses following the announcement.