Top 5 Stories Of The Day | ASUU Declares Nigeria’s Situation Is Worse Than 40 Years Ago

• ASUU declares Nigeria’s situation is worse than 40 years ago
• FG distributes ₦150,000 grants to SMEs in Enugu State
• Tinubu establishes “Nigeria Revenue Service” to collect revenues from all agencies
• NUPRC warns that Nigerians might suffer gas crisis
• ASUP gives FG two-week ultimatum over ignored demands

Across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, these are the five top Nigerian news stories you shouldn’t miss. 

ASUU declares Nigeria’s situation is worse than 40 years ago

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) compared the present livelihood of Nigeria to 40 years ago, declaring that the country has only declined, marred by corruption, terrible governance, and inhumane policies.

The President of ASUU, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, criticised the country during a conference in Abuja, where he criticised the President’s “Renewed Hope” initiatives, which have done nothing but plunge Nigerians into a “hopeless state”.

“As the nation celebrates its 64th anniversary and reflects on the past, it is sad to note that the situation is worse today compared to 1984,” Osodeke said.

FG distributes ₦150,000 grants to SMEs in Enugu State

The Vice President of Nigeria, Kashim Shettima, shared the sum of ₦150,000 to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Enugu State, saying the President had approved the grants to create a business environment that offers opportunities for these brands to grow into large enterprises.

The VP stated that the President was committed to connecting the infrastructure gap and ending the erosion menace in the Southeast geo-political zone.

“We will sit with the leadership of the National Assembly. We’ll sit with the governors of the Southeast and devise a solution to deal with the erosion, especially in the states like Anambra and Abia, and even Enugu will not be left out of this scourge of erosion. These are issues that need practical solutions,” Shettima said.

Tinubu establishes “Nigeria Revenue Service” to collect revenues from all agencies

The President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, is set to launch a single agency called the “Nigeria Revenue Service” that will put a stop to Customs and other revenue-generating agencies from collecting revenues in the stead of the Federal Government.

This coincides with the FG’s announcement of complete tax reforms focused on boosting revenue collection.

The reforms will prohibit the Nigerian Customs Service and 60 other revenue-generating agencies from collecting revenues and will streamline the tax collection process.

NUPRC warns that Nigerians might suffer gas crisis

The Commission Chief Executive of the National Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, has announced that Nigerians might be in for a ride as there will likely be a gas crisis due to the possible shortfall of 3.1billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) by 2030.

The engineer, represented by the Regional Director at the 2024 Annual Conference of the Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria (NAEC), stated that the demand for gas was expected to grow between 2020 and 2030 at a compound yearly rate of 16.6%/ per year.

He claimed that natural gas production was expected to increase from 8.0 bcf/d in 2020 to 12.2 bcf/d in 2030, but it would not be able to meet the expectations unless challenges in the power sector are fixed.

ASUP gives FG two-week ultimatum over ignored demands

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has warned the federal government by offering a two-week ultimatum to fulfil the union’s demands, which gravely affects the Polytechnic sector.

According to ASUP, the two-week notice will begin on October 7, 2024. It will expire on October 25, 2024, after which the union will take action to halt the activities in all polytechnics nationwide.

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics stated several issues requiring involvement from the federal government, some of which are the violations of the Federal Polytechnics Act affecting the appointment of administrative officers, the absence of the review of Schemes of Service for Polytechnics, and more.