FG, ASUU to resume talks next week

 

Chris Ngige, minister of education, has revealed that the Federal Government and the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities will resume talks next week in an attempt to put an end to the three-month old strike.

The minister made this known during its meeting with the delegates of the striking National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT).

He described the numerous industrial strikes embarked upon by ASUU as unnecessary and advised that if the union was more diplomatic, it could have taken advantage of its open door policy like the health unions who took advantage of it.

He reminded all that since the health unions took advantage of his open-door policy, there have been no strikes in that sector.

Ngige made it clear that every union is important in the greater scheme of things. This he stated in a statement made public on Friday by Patience Onuobia, the acting Head, Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Patience Onuobia.

He reassured all unions and Nigerians in general that, against negative public opinion, the federal government is trying to tackle all the industrial disputes in the education sector thoroughly so as to promote industrial harmony and progress in the university system.

He said in the statement made available to the press, “If you are from any union, you don’t need to book an appointment to see me.” The doctors started using that advantage. JOHESU also did the same. That is why the health sector is quiet. But the education unions don’t take advantage of my open door policy.

“We don’t have to cry over spilt milk. Let us look at your issues to see the ones we can handle immediately, the ones we can do in the medium term, and the ones we can do in the long term. There are certain ones that are over and above me that are not in my hands to do.

He re-emphasized what his job entails, saying that, “My job is to prepare an agreement after conciliation on what you have agreed with your employers, the Federal Ministry of Education, and put timelines and monitor them to see whether the results will be there.”

As a conciliator, I manage you people in measured steps. That is why I want to take care of all of you holistically and I ask for your cooperation. When I finish with you today, I will continue with ASUU next week. I did NASU and SSANU yesterday, and they were happy. I want you people to be happy as we leave here. ”

For the contentious implementation of the 2009 agreement between ASUU and the federal government, he pleaded with the union to understand that implementation will still take some time and that all that is needed is for the union to give the government a chance.

Boehly Group reaches agreement to buy Chelsea

The Boehly group has reached an agreement to buy Chelsea Football Club.

The group, which is made up of investment company Clearlake Capital, Swiss businessman Hansjoerg Wyss, and Guggenheim Partners Chief Executive Officer Mark Walter, will, according to undisclosed sources who spoke to Bloomberg, take over the club in days to come.

The transaction, which is valued at 4.25 billion pounds, will include a 2.5 billion pound purchase price plus 1.75 billion pounds for further investments in the club, it was gathered.

However, the deal is yet to be made public as approval from the British government, which approved the sale, has yet to be given.

Another hurdle to the complete takeover by the Boehly group is for them to meet the stringent Premier League rules for owners and directors.

Meanwhile, the financial consultant for the deal, Raine Group, is yet to make a comment.

Chelsea will be a part of a growing American investment in the Premier League following the Glazers family ownership of Manchester United, Arsenal FC owned by Stan Kroenke and the Kroenke Sports Group, Aston Villa owned by Wesley Eden, Burnley owned by ALK Capital, Crystal Palace owned by Palace Holdco LP & John Textor, Leeds United owned by 49ers Enterprises, Liverpool FC owned by Fenway Sports Group, and finally West Ham owned by Albert Smith.

 

Read also: Domestic airlines to shut operations from Monday over fuel price hike

Nationalisation policy: South Sudan to chase out foreign own oil companies

South Sudan is finalising legislation to take over the operations of international oil companies in the country.

The newest African country, which gained independence from Sudan on July 9, 2011, made this decision to increase its share of revenue in the oil industry even as exploration activities decreased.

 

The plan, which is not immediate, is to be implemented over a 5-year period. This legislation follows a plan by Salva Kiir Mayardit to increase domestic presence in the industry, admitting calls by some quarters to increase local presence in the sector.

 

According to Bloomberg, the country has been “boosting the role of state-owned Nile Petroleum Corp., taking over assets as contracts expire.”

 

In a chat with reporters on Friday in Juba, the capital, Awow Daniel Chuang, the undersecretary in the Ministry of Petroleum of South Sudan, said that “Nationalisation will be done through training where we are able.”

 

“In areas where we don’t have expertise, we will have to use foreigners for a very short period of time until those skills are acquired,” he concluded.

 

Some of the operators’ assets to be reclaimed in this nationalisation drive are China National Petroleum Corp, India’s OGNC, and Malaysia’s Petroliam Nasional Bhd.

US economy post strong job data

 

Information from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the US economy added 428,000 new jobs in April of 2022. A result that shows a 39,000 addition to analysts’ forecast of 390,000 new jobs for the month of April, 2022.

This information is contained in its monthly Non-Farm Payroll report, released every first Friday of the month. The growth in job data marks a “12th straight month of job gains above 400,000 but falling short of it’s February biggest gain yet of 714,000 jobs amid an increasingly tight labour market,” tradingeconomics said.

Despite the rising food and energy prices, employment increased across all sectors, with leisure and hospitality providing the most jobs, having gained 78,000 new entrants. followed by food services and drinking places/bars/club houses, accommodation and hostels, manufacturing, transportation, and warehousing, with 44,000, 22,000, 55,000, and 52,000 respectively.

However, the report showed that employment growth still falls below pre-pandemic levels by 1.2 million people in March 2020.

 

Finally, with the 50 basis point increase in interest rates announced by the Fed Reserve chairman, Jerome Powell, economists are of the opinion that employment may slow down following the new interest payments, which would make borrowing from banks more expensive.

And once the cost of credit is high, companies may slow down their borrowing activities to fund projects that would require additional labour.

 

U.S. to give $150 million more in military aid to Ukraine

 

President Joe Biden has announced another round of funding for Ukraine worth $150 million in military aid.

The money will be in artillery rounds, radars, jamming equipment, and spare parts, Bloomberg reported.

Biden said in a statement, “With today’s announcement, my administration has nearly exhausted funding that can be used to send security assistance through drawdown authorities for Ukraine.”

Meanwhile, a new round of penalties is to be discussed by a group of seven leaders on Sunday. At the top of their discussion will be how to implement their outright ban on Russian oil.

However, it was reported that President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission has expressed confidence that “the European Union will reach a deal on a Russian oil embargo after proposing to give Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic more time to comply.”