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  The ongoing dialogue between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities will continue on Wednesday to enable the leadership to consult their organs on the conclusions reached at Thursday ’s meeting . The parley was convened to resolve the lingering issues that led to the strike by the university lecturers . The government has made some offers and commitments during the meeting which ASUU agreed to take back to their members for consideration . Presenting the outcome of the meeting , the Minister of Labour and Employment , Dr Chris Ngige , said that the government had pledged to pay N 40 billion, being the pending Earned Academic Allowance of the university teachers . He explained that out of that amount , N 30 bn would be paid on or before November 6 , while the remaining N 10 b would be spread equally over two tranches to be paid on May 2021 and February 2022 . A statement on Friday by the Ministry of Labour and Employment spokesman , Mr Charles Akpan , ...

  The Federal Government has agreed to release N 30 billion earned academic allowance to the university lecturers . The money will be paid in tranches between May 2021 and February 2022 .   It was gathered that the FG also promised to spend N20 billion on the revitalisation of the education sector as part of concessions meant to end the seven - month strike declared by the Academic Staff Union of Universities . These were part of the agreements reached during the ongoing meeting between the FG and ASUU leadership on Thursday . Speaking earlier before going into a closed -door session , the Minister of Labour and Employment , Chris Ngige , said students were being recruited into the # EndSARS protests following the closure of universities occasioned by the ASUU strike. He expressed the hope that ASUU would call off the strike soon , noting that the government has been finding ways to end the seven -month strike. The government team was led by Ngige , his minister of state , Fes...

 The Inspector -General of Police , Mohammed Adamu , has set up the Special Weapons and Tactics Team that will replace the disbanded Special Anti- Robbery Squad . The prospective members of the new team , who would undergo tactical training next week , will undergo a psychological and medical examination to ascertain their fitness and eligibility for the new assignment . A statement by the Force spokesman , DCP Frank Mba , in Abuja on Tuesday , disclosed that the personnel from police commands in the South- East and the South-South will be trained at the Counter -Terrorism College , Nonwa -Tai , Rivers State . Those from the police commands in the North and the South- West will be trained at the Police Mobile Force Training College , Ende, Nasarawa State and the Police Mobile Force Training College , Ila - Orangun, Osun State , respectively . The statement was entitled , ‘IGP orders all defunct SARS personnel to report at the force headquarters for psychological and medical examina...

      The President of the Senate , Ahmad Lawan, has berated the Federal Government for signing an unrealistic agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities . He said , “When we negotiate , we must negotiate in such a manner that the final product will be implementable. “This is to say that we have to accommodate each other with government doing what it is supposed to do and ASUU , being the body of our lecturers , stands to protect its members .” Lawan said these on Monday when ASUU presented its alternative payroll system , the University Transparency and Accountability Solution , to the Senate . He also pleaded with the ASUU not to be too rigid in its demands in order to move the country forward . He said , “I am sure that we need to review some of the items on the agreements . “We cannot have an agreement signed in 2009 and still think this is the only way we can deal with it. “We should be able to have a look at the agreements signed and see at this time wh...

  The Inspector -General General of Police , Mohammed Adamu , says the training of a new police unit to replace the disbanded Special Anti -Robbery Squad will commence next week . He promised to investigate all cases of brutality by SARS operatives and bring the perpetrators to book . Adamu spoke when popular musician , David Adeleke aka Davido, visited him in office on Monday over the ongoing # EndSARS protests . He said with SARS being disbanded , there was need to set up a new structure to carry out the duties of the defunct police unit which is fighting violent crimes. He said the new outfit would be intelligence -driven, properly trained and only act on occasions that required their attention . He said the unit would be made up of fresh personnel with a new orientation and not officers from the scrapped unit . According to the police boss , opportunities would be created for members of the public to make inputs into the formation of the new unit . Adamu called for calm , notin...

  Protest against police brutality , extortion and extra- judicial killings turned violent in the Surulere area of Lagos State on Monday . The PUNCH gathered that police officers shot indiscriminately to disperse the protesters . In the process , two of the protesters were reportedly hit by gunshots . One of those hit by the gunshot has been reported dead . The protesters had since shared pictures and videos of the victims on social media . However , efforts to reach the Lagos Police Command Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi , proved abortive . He also did not respond to a text message forwarded to him by our correspondent . In the videos that surfaced online , the protesters were seen scampering to safety . But the Police Public Relations Officer in Lagos State , Olumuyiwa Adejobi , told the News Agency of Nigeria denied that the protesters were not shot by policemen . Instead, he noted that two other inspectors were critically wounded during the violent attack on their uni...

  One of the leading voices of the # EndSARS protests rocking different parts of the country , Aisha Yesufu , has alleged that the President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari ( retd .) , ordered the men of the Nigeria Police Force to attack protesters expressing their dissatisfaction over the brutality and extrajudicial killings by the operatives of the now -disbanded Special Anti -Robbery Squad of the police . Yesufu , who spoke in a Facebook Live Chat with The PUNCH on Monday afternoon , said had the President not given the instruction , he would have sanctioned the Inspector -General of Police , Mohammed Adamu , for the several assaults on #EndSARS protesters by his men. The PUNCH had reported that the attendant street protests which led to the disbandment of SARS turned violent in some parts of the country , with a protester identified as Jimoh Isiaka , shot dead in Ogbomoso , Oyo State on Saturday. Buhari in a video on Monday subsequently said he had ordered a probe into the ki...

  The President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari ( retd .) , on Monday , addressed the nation for the first time amid the ongoing nationwide protests against the brutality and extrajudicial killings by men of the now -defunct Special Anti -Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police Force . In the about two-minute broadcast uploaded on his verified Twitter handle , @ MBuhari, the President said the disbandment of the police unit was a first step to “extensive police reforms” . The President said officials of the disbanded team found to be responsible for wrongful acts would be brought to justice . Buhari also said he had ordered a probe into the killing of a young man in Oyo State during the recent protests . He said , “I will like to use this opportunity to say a word on the recent genuine concerns and agitations by Nigerians about the excessive use of force and in some cases extra -judicial killings and wrongful conduct of the men of the Nigerian Police Force . “The disbanding of SARS is...