ASUU to suspend strike soon, says Ngige

Wednesday, September 30, 2020 NEWS No Comments

 

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, says the Academic Staff Union of Universities would soon suspend its strike.

Ngige gave the hint during an interview onChannels Television’s Politics Todayaired Tuesday evening and monitored by our correspondent.

He explained that the Ministries of Finance, Education, Labour and Employment and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation will meet with ASUU to resolve the disagreement on the controversial Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System.

The PUNCHreports thatof the Federal Government to honour its 2019 agreement.

But Ngige said the FG was ready for an integrity test of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution developed as an alternative to IPPIS by the varsity lecturers.

He noted that FG would consider the UTAS if it addresses the shortcomings identified in IPPIS.

He said, “The issue of ASUU will soon come to an end. Two reasons – ASUU have called the Federal Government, represented by Finance and the Accountant-General Office and their direct employers, the Ministry of Education to come for the test.

“We are ready to do that. After the independence day celebration, the four ministries and agencies involved will gather together with ASUU. We will look at the UTAS. If there are shortcomings with IPPIS as complained which UTAS have corrected. What’s wrong about it? It is software, we will look at it.

“Secondly, ASUU members have been collecting their money since COVID-19 came and I wrote a memo to Mr president that ASUU members are still Nigerians. Even the members, have families that they care for. By upper week, we are going to arrange for this demonstration.”

ASUU had rejected IPPIS, insisting that it violates university autonomy and proposed the UTAS as an alternative.

President of the union, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, earlier explained that there was nowhere in the world where IPPIS is being implemented that universities are put under the civil service.

He said if Nigeria wanted to have 21st-century universities, with global ranking, it cannot be achieved through IPPIS.

“This is because IPPIS will shut the door against scholars who are to come from outside Nigeria, scholars who are not on the pensionable appointment within the system.

“IPPIS will bring universities under direct civil service control and the system does not work that way.

“That kind of system will kill innovation, will kill creativity and it will kill academic freedom and autonomy.”

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Online sports betting trends in 2020

Wednesday, September 30, 2020 NEWS, SPORT No Comments

Online sports betting industry, like any other industry is continuously transforming and adjusting to environmental, business and technology changes. If we think about sports betting itself, moving to an online mode of betting has been a transformational journey for the business. It has become much more popular than it once was and in order for players to remain relevant, it is imperative to stay up to date and ready to adapt to these changes. Sports popularity across various sports has been increasing over the years and viewership has increased manifold. This has also benefitted the sports betting industry and the business has also grown manifold. Let us look at some of the major trends in online sports betting in 2020.

eSports

eSports may not be physical like most other sports, but they have given a huge boost to the betting industry. They’re highly competitive and that gives grounds for betting industry to prosper. The edge that eSports have over conventional sports is the ability to host events in the worst of circumstances. While people being stuck at their homes has delayed most sporting events, eSports remains unaffected and are doing just fine. Many authorities are also looking at eSports as a means to curb cheating.

 

 

Player Tracking

Earlier, people betting on players had to go to various forums to research the players and make educated bets. While information was available but information was not as accessible as it is now. The introduction of good betting sites has given a great tool to these people because it allows tracking of all information related to the player, all at one place without the need for searching across various platforms. With further advancements, it might become possible to track the player performance using smart wearables. This will help punters place more accurate bets with a more thorough analysis.

Last-minute Betting

Technology has revolutionized all industries. While earlier betting used to be done by manually visiting the stores and buying tickets, it has now moved to online sports betting portals. For instance, now you can avail the best UFC betting odds, from right within the comfort of your living room! This has completely changed the betting game. Furthermore, earlier people had to buy their tickets in advance but now with online betting, they can bet on something down till the last minute, and even as the action unfolds on the pitch. While seasoned punters are generally experienced enough to place well-informed bets in advance to register maximum profits, most beginners opt for last minute or live bets.

Opening of the US Market

Countries such as UK and Australia had already made betting legal but US was still undecided and this was a major roadblock in adoption of online betting websites. But lately, many states in USA have started to allow sports betting and have been looking at it as a source of revenue. With USA coming to the fold, eSports as well as regular sports betting seems to have a bright future ahead!

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Lagos cancels Independence Day parade

Wednesday, September 30, 2020 NEWS No Comments

The Lagos state government has cancelled the Independence Day parade expected to hold on Thursday October 1. 

 

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu who opted for a lowkey celebration due to the Coronavirus pandemic, directed that the planned parade and other activities that involve the gathering of more than 50 people should be cancelled.

 

In the statement released by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy Mr Gbenga Omotoso, Sanwo-Olu urged Lagosians not to relax their vigilance against COVID-19 so as not to reverse the gains that the state has made in fighting the disease.

 

The statement partly read; 

 

"The  governor congratulates Lagosians on this auspicious occasion and strongly advises that they should celebrate quietly at home and pray for the country.

“They should also observe the COVID-19 protocols, including wearing of face masks to protect themselves and their loved ones. 

“They are to keep embracing social distancing and washing of hands with soap and water. Anybody who feels unwell should stay indoors and contact health authorities”.

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