From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja

The lawmaker representing Omala State Constituency in the Kogi State House of Assembly, Hon. Umar Yahaya, has unveiled a ₦6 million education support scheme for students in the area. adsbygoogle || []).push({});

Speaking at the flag-off ceremony held in Omala on Saturday, Yahaya, said the initiative targets 101 beneficiaries.

According to him, it includes a ₦1 million scholarship for the candidate with the highest score in the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) from Omala Local Government Area.

He said under the scheme, 100 students drawn from public and private schools across the 11 wards of the council will each receive ₦50,000, amounting to ₦5 million, while the remaining ₦1 million is reserved for the best UTME performer.

The lawmaker said the programme will also feature distribution of educational materials to schools across the 11 wards.

The materials include notebooks, recommended Mathematics and English textbooks, school bags, among others.

He said the intervention was designed to ease financial burden on parents, reward academic excellence and improve access to learning materials for students in the constituency.

In his remarks, the Kogi State Commissioner for Education, Wemi Jones, who represented Gov. Ahmed Usman Ododo, commended Yahaya for investing in education.

Jones said the initiative complements the state government’s efforts to improve the education sector and demonstrates effective collaboration between elected representatives and government institutions.

He noted that provision of learning materials would enable students to concentrate on their studies while reducing financial pressure on their families.

The commissioner described the cash awards and scholarship for outstanding students as a motivation for hard work and healthy academic competition.

He urged other political leaders and stakeholders to emulate the gesture by supporting initiatives that expand educational opportunities for children.

Jones used the occasion to highlight the Ododo administration’s education policies, including free education in public schools and payment of external examination fees.

He disclosed that the state government had committed 30 per cent of its annual budget to education, stressing that sustained investment was necessary to improve learning outcomes and strengthen public universities in the state.

He called on residents of Omala and Kogi East in general to continue supporting government policies aimed at expanding access to education and promoting development.

The ₦6 million scheme is expected to provide financial relief to students, recognise outstanding academic performance and extend learning support to schools across Omala LGA.
Ends.

From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja

The Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Prince Abubakar Audu University (PAAU), Anyigba, Professor Mohammed Audu, and the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Salisu Usman, have been conferred with the Prestigious Fellowship of the Society for Peace Studies and Practice (SPSP) in recognition of their contributions to peace scholarship, leadership, and the promotion of peace and security in Nigeria.

The Prestigious fellowship was conferred on Tuesday, 6th October 2026, during the 20th Annual International Conference and General Assembly of the Society for Peace Studies and Practice, held at Lead City University, Ibadan, Oyo State.

According to the statement issued by the Public Relations Officer of the institution, Uredo Omale which was made available to journalists in Lokoja on Wednesday, the conferment followed the nomination of the two university leaders by the Society’s National Working Committee and subsequent approval by its Board of Trustees.

The statement indicates that “The Society for Peace Studies and Practice is a professional umbrella organisation for peace scholars and practitioners, committed to fostering collaboration towards sustainable peace and development in Africa.

“It promotes non-violent approaches to conflict resolution through research, strategic advocacy, and practical interventions, while also facilitating seminars, international conferences, workshops, public lectures, and other scholarly engagements on peace, security, and development”

Responding to the honour, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council and the Vice-Chancellor expressed their heartfelt appreciation to the Society for Peace Studies and Practice for the recognition.

They commended the leadership of the Society for identifying and recognising their contributions, while reaffirming their commitment to supporting initiatives that promote peaceful coexistence, conflict resolution, and sustainable development.

They also acknowledged the important role of professional bodies and academic institutions in advancing peace scholarship, research, and practice.

They stressed the need for sustained collaboration among scholars, practitioners, government institutions, and other stakeholders in addressing contemporary challenges relating to peace and security.

The ceremony featured the formal investiture of the two university leaders as Prestigious Fellows of the Society for Peace Studies and Practice, with the presentation of Fellowship certificates and plaques.

By Nick Ibe, Abuja

A 14-day ultimatum has been given the Federal government to release funds for the implementation of the recently signed 2026 Agreement and pay outstanding arrears, failing which the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU, will shut down universities.

Following the threat, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, is said to be desperately making moves to avert the strike, by assuring that the funds would be released on or before next week.

At its 56th National Executive Council, NEC, meeting held at the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, at the weekend, SSANU took the decision to down tools if the funds are not released.

Consequently, a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting and signed by its national president, Comrade Mohammed Ibrahim, SSANU noted that the arrears constitute legitimate financial entitlements of affected members and must be paid in full without further delay.

The communiqué stated that the meeting deliberated extensively on developments affecting the Nigerian university system, the welfare of members of the union and other issues of national importance, including the implementation of the 2026 FGN/SSANU Agreement, funding of universities, security, the economy and cost of living, public education, accreditation of university programmes, food security, technology and cybersecurity, energy, the rule of law and the general state of the nation.

The communique read:

“NEC acknowledged that implementation of the 2026 FGN/SSANU Agreement, which took effect from January 1, 2026, notwithstanding its formal signing on June 29, 2026, has commenced in some universities.

“NEC, however, expressed serious concern that implementation remains incomplete and uneven across the university system as a result of funding and administrative challenges.

“NEC categorically demanded the immediate release and payment of all outstanding arrears arising from the implementation of the 2026 FGN/SSANU CONTTA salary structure, calculated from the effective date of January 1, 2026.

“NEC stressed that these arrears constitute legitimate financial entitlements of affected members and must be paid in full without further delay. NEC further observed that universities which have so far implemented the CONTTA salary structure did so largely through internally sourced funds, without direct cash backing from the Federal Government.

“NEC therefore called on vice-chancellors and governing councils of universities that are yet to implement the financial and non-financial components of the 2026 FGN/SSANU Agreement to draw lessons from institutions that have taken proactive steps to implement the Agreement in the interest of staff welfare, industrial harmony and improved organisational performance.”

“Conclusively, NEC, in session, after exhaustive deliberations on the continued non-release of funds for the implementation of the 2026 FGN/SSANU Agreement, issued the Federal Government a 14-day ultimatum to release the required funds and ensure the full payment of all outstanding CONTTA arrears.

“NEC stressed that members have waited sufficiently for the benefits of an Agreement already concluded and therefore demand immediate and full compliance within the stipulated period.”

However, the SSANU president informed that the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, had assured them that the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation was working hard to ensure that the funds were released by next week at the latest.

Comrade Mohammed said the release of the funds, as promised, before the expiration of the 14-day ultimatum would avert the situation.

In his words:

“At this juncture, I must inform you, comrades, that just before this press briefing, I received a call from the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, informing me of the current progress being made on the release of the money.

“He just confirmed to me that the Director of Funds in the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Accountant-General’s Office had confirmed that the money would be released on or before next week. We hope this will be done. And if that is done, it will avert the situation. Otherwise, our ultimatum stands.”

On the payment of the outstanding two months’ withheld salaries and one-year arrears of the 25 per cent and 35 per cent salary increases, “NEC expressed serious concern over the continued non-payment of the remaining two months’ salaries withheld during the 2022 industrial action and categorically demanded the immediate release and payment of the outstanding two months’ salaries to all affected members.”

The SSANU NEC further demanded the immediate release and payment of the outstanding one-year arrears arising from the 25 per cent and 35 per cent salary increases, stressing that these are legitimate entitlements due to affected university workers and should no longer be subjected to further delay.

“NEC therefore called on the Federal Government to take immediate steps to settle these outstanding obligations in full, in order to address the financial hardship being experienced by affected members and demonstrate commitment to the welfare of university workers.”

SSANU further expressed concern over the uneven implementation of the Agreement in state-owned universities and noted the varying experiences across institutions, including developments in Ondo, Delta and Kaduna states.

“NEC strongly called on state governments and governing councils of state universities to ensure full and equitable implementation of the Agreement and to provide the necessary funding for its execution. NEC maintained that staff of state universities must not be treated as lesser partners in the Nigerian University System and cautioned that selective or delayed implementation could undermine industrial harmony.”