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Government Approves N542 Million For Payment Of UTME, BECE Fees

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Ododo

Government Approves N542 Million For Payment Of UTME, BECE Fees

Government approves N542 million for payment of UTME, BECE fees. Mr Jones explained that N145.4 million would cover CEE for 25,100 basic six pupils and N215.2 million for 30,500 students qualified for BECE.

Governor Ahmed Ododo of Kogi has approved N542 million for the payment of 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UMTE) fees to 18,734 students in public schools across the state.

The amount will also cover the Common Entrance Examination (CEE) for Basic six pupils and Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) fees for students in public schools.
The Commissioner for Education, Wemi Jones, disclosed this at a press conference on Tuesday in Lokoja.

Mr Jones explained that N145.4 million would cover CEE for 25,100 basic six pupils and N215.2 million for 30,500 students qualified for BECE.

He added that N181.7 million would cover UTME fees for 18,734 students, amounting to N542.4 million.
Mr Jones said the gesture was in line with the state government’s law that provides for free examination registration fees for Kogi students in public primary and secondary schools.

The commissioner said the law was enacted by former Governor Yahaya Bello and expressed the commitment of the Ododo-led administration to consolidate the gains recorded by the previous administration in the education sector.

In October 2024, the state government released more than N661.3 million for the payment of 2024/2025 West African Examination Council fees for students in public schools.

Mr Jones said the state government had spent N1.2 billion on payment for public school students’ external and internal examinations in the 2024/2025 academic session.

According to him, the gesture significantly increased school enrolment rates in the state, with the 2024 payments increasing school enrolment by 18 per cent.

“These efforts had greatly reduced the number of out-of-school children that remained a great challenge in the education sector.
“It has also enhanced students’ performance in national examinations,” he said.

The commissioner commended Mr Ododo for prioritising access to quality education to reduce poverty and illiteracy rates.

UTME

UTME

He implored the schools’ principals and other heads to cooperate with the ministry for a seamless registration exercise for the benefit of the targeted children.

However, Mr Jones warned that the government would come down heavily on any school principal who tried to shortchange the students or sabotage the process.

Education

Abia State University Suspends Lecturer Nnamdi Nwaeze Over Facebook Post on Workers’ Pay

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Nnamdi Nwaeze

Abia State University Suspends Lecturer Nnamdi Nwaeze Over Facebook Post on Workers’ Pay

The management of Abia State University, Uturu, has suspended Professor Nnamdi Nwaeze of the Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences, over comments he made on Facebook concerning the plight of lecturers at the institution.
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This was contained in a statement issued by the Deputy Registrar and Public Relations Officer of the university, Chijioke Nwogu, on Thursday.

The statement partly read, “The suspension follows concerns arising from various social media posts attributed to Professor Nwaeze, which are inimical to the interests of the University and uncomplimentary to the Visitor of the University.”

Nwaeze had, on Wednesday, in a post on his Facebook account, alleged that members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities at ABSU were among the least-paid university lecturers in Nigeria.

He said lecturers at the university were still being paid under the 2009 ASUU-Federal Government salary structure, while being taxed based on the 2024 tax rate.

He also alleged that a 2024 ASUU-FG salary structure had not been implemented at ABSU and that another salary structure approved in December 2025 and effective from January 1, 2026, was yet to be implemented at the university.

Nwaeze further alleged that lecturers promoted between 2023 and 2026 had not been paid salaries corresponding to their new ranks, while some members had outstanding salaries dating back as far as 44 months.

According to him, about N163m in cooperative deductions was allegedly being owed by the government, while professors in federal and most state universities earned between N1.3m and N1.4m, compared with what he described as significantly lower earnings at ABSU.

He further queried the disparity in the earnings of professors at the institution, asking, “Did you know that most professors in ABSU earn less than N400k monthly? At this salary scale, a Keke driver who earns a daily net income of just N15k (many earn N20k & above daily) would earn more than a professor in ABSU (N15k x 30 = N450k per month)?”

Nwaeze also alleged that more than 85 per cent of lecturers no longer drove their cars and that staff members were relying on personal savings, borrowing, rental income and royalties from intellectual property to subsidise their work.

Nnamdi Nwaeze

Nnamdi Nwaeze

He stated, “Hence, rather than receive a subsidy from the government, staff are the ones subsidising the state government.”

However, the university management said it had constituted an investigative panel to examine the matter.

“Consequently, Management has constituted an Investigative Panel to consider the matter. The suspension takes immediate effect pending the outcome of the investigation by the Panel,” the statement added.
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Economy

Olukoyede to Corps Members: Strive to be New Breed Youths in Fight Against Corruption

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Corps Members

Olukoyede to Corps Members: Strive to be New Breed Youths in Fight Against Corruption

The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has charged members of the National Youth Service Corps NYSC, across the country to strive to be new breed youths by taking ownership of the fight against corruption, economic and financial crimes and upholding integrity, discipline and dedication in all they do.
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He gave the charge on Thursday, August 13, 2026, while addressing Batch “B” Stream II Corps members at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Ikare-Akoko, Akoko North East Local Government Area, Ondo State.

Delivering a lecture titled, “New Breed Youths as Catalysts for National Development,” through the Deputy Superintendent of the EFCC, DSE Emmanuel Onuminya, Olukoyede described youths as critical stakeholders in the fight against corruption, economic and financial crimes, observing that Nigeria’s progress depended largely on the commitment of young people in sanitising the country and resisting corrupt practices.

“It is not enough to see yourselves as youths in today’s Nigeria; you need to see and carry yourselves as new breed youths. A new breed of youth should be angry with the failures of the past and develop strengths for new successes. As new breed youths, decide to be a solution rather than a problem, a builder, not a breaker, a thinker, not a plunderer, a pillar, not an evil caterpillar! Nigeria needs new breed youths who will be catalysts of development and springboards of progress,” he said.

While noting that corruption is the major obstacle to national progress, he stressed that young Nigerians must embrace a new mindset in order to break away from the longstanding culture of corruption that has hindered the nation’s development.

“Every terror in our land can be traced to corrupt practices. Hunger, diseases, untimely death, banditry, inflation, indebtedness, unemployment and other issues of social dislocation are caused by corruption. New breed youths should not be comfortable with these grim scenarios. You need to be a new breed of youth to pursue a fresh agenda of progress, integrity, development and anti-corruption in every realm. A new breed of youth is hungry for new results, angry with compromises and zealous for transparency. A new breed youth is willing and serious to interrogate his or her environment and expose shadiness and corruption.

“A new breed of youth is not interested in following the lines of least resistance. He fashions a new route of purpose and gives all it takes to walk in that route. A new breed of youth is the answer to the need for progress in our land. You need to be a new breed of youth to align with the mandate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC,” he said.

The EFCC boss further challenged the corps members to see themselves as vanguards of positive change, urging them to be foot soldiers in the collective effort to rid Nigeria of corruption, economic and financial crimes.

He called on them to demonstrate integrity in their personal lives and professional engagements, stressing that the responsibility of building a better Nigeria rests significantly on the choices and actions of the younger generation.

The EFCC’s boss gave the same charge at NYSC Orientation Camp in Girei , Adamawa State.

Represented by Chief Superintendent of the EFCC ,CSE Ogolekwu Mary, the Chairman charged the youths to harness their energies into developing the country. At the NYSC Orientation Camp in Nonwa Gbam, Tai Local Government Area of Rivers State, Port Harcourt, Olukoyede spoke through Assistant Superintendent of the EFCC II, Otagada Sunday Ogar and enjoined corps members to embrace a value-driven life strengthened by patriotic desires to move the nation forward.

Speaking through Chief Superintendent of the EFCC , CSE Nana Fatima Abubakar in Kaduna at the NYSC Temporary Orientation Camp in Kaduna State, the EFCC Chairman urged corps members to be more committed to values of integrity and national development, stressing that their choices would determine the direction of the country’s future.

Corps Members

Corps Members

At the NYSC Orientation Camp in Keffi, Nasarawa State and speaking through the Head of Public Affairs Unit, EFCC Abuja Zonal Directorate, CSE Ngoundu Nguetar, Olukoyede enjoined corps members to see corruption as an affront and open war against their possibilities and future and they must therefore be brigade commanders and generals tackling the menace of graft

In Lagos, Abuja, Yenagoa, Maiduguri, Uyo, Benin-City, Ilorin, Makurdi and other locations in Nigeria, the anti-graft czar spoke passionately about the need for youths’ ownership of the anti-corruption fight and using their intellect and courage to save the nation the scourge of corrupt practices.
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Education

IGP Disu, Stakeholders To Establish Police Academy Ogun Campus, Upgrade College Across The County

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IGP Disu

IGP Disu, Stakeholders To Establish Police Academy Ogun Campus, Upgrade College Across The County

In a major move toward reforming police education, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, psc(+), NPM, held a high-level strategic meeting at the Federal Ministry of Education today, Monday, May 4, 2026.

The main goal of the meeting was to officially establish a new Nigeria Police Academy (POLAC) campus in Ogun State, along with a comprehensive plan to upgrade and secure accreditation for the 42 Police Colleges nationwide.

The meeting was hosted by the Honourable Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, and the Honourable Minister of State for Education, Dr. Suwaiba Said Ahmad. The attendance of former IGP Kayode Egbetokun (Rtd) and other key stakeholders highlighted the importance and national significance of these educational reforms.

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Key topics covered included infrastructure development and collaboration with the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) to ensure the construction of modern facilities. Stakeholders also coordinated with the National Universities Commission (NUC) for thorough resource verification to meet accreditation standards, with a clear timeline set for the Ogun State campus to be fully operational in the 2026 academic session.

IGP Disu

IGP Disu

IGP Disu reaffirmed the Force’s dedication to professional excellence, emphasizing that transforming these institutions is essential for building a modern, service-oriented police force.

He stated that by combining academic rigor with tactical operational training, the Nigeria Police Force will produce officers ready to address today’s security challenges with the highest level of integrity.

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