THIRTEEN days to the 19th anniversary of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, dubbed the freest and fairest polls ever conducted in Nigeria, and 39 days to the 14th year of the death of the presumed winner of that election, Chief Moshood Kasimawo Olawale Abiola, the Federal Government, Tuesday, honoured Abiola.

Authorities of the University of Lagos, yesterday, ordered immediate closure of the university following protests by students of the institution which entered second day over the renaming of the school to Moshood Abiola University. This came as the Federal Government insisted that there was no going back on the decision.

OWERRI— Activities in government offices and parastatals in Imo State were paralysed yesterday, following the full compliance with the indefinite industrial action called by labour leaders in the state.

The story was the same when Vanguard visited government offices located in the State Secretariat along Port Harcourt Road, as well as Orlu Road axis.

A few workers were seen lurking a distance away from their offices discussing the development in low tone.

It will be recalled that the current industrial action stemmed from a circular issued by the State Public Service Negotiating Council, Trade Union Side and by the State Chairmen of Joint Negotiating Council, JNC, and Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Coleman Okwara and Dr. Reginald Anyadike respectively and four others.

When contacted, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Dr. Obinna Duruji, acknowledged the development and said however that government was already dialoguing with labour leaders over the matter.

According to him, “Yes, workers are on strike. It is true that labour locked all government offices in the state but we are talking with their leaders. I am confident that we will resolve the issue before the end of the day.”

“We don’t want MAU!” was the theme song of students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) as they adamantly rejected President Goodluck Jonathan’s decision to rename the institution Moshood Abiola University (MAU).Their stance could not be mistaken. They took to the streets in their thousands to protest what they described as an “unconstitutional move” by the President on Tuesday.

A FRIEND of mine always says“anybody who marks his own exam papers will get an A”. That was exactly what the new Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, did in appraising the 13 years since the Party took charge of the affairs of the country from the military. He claimed that the party “has put the nation on the path to sustainable development and steady economic growth as the basis to stabilise and consolidate the nation’s democracy”.