THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has criticised the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, over his comment that the shutting down of the National Grid on Monday by the Organised Labour amounted to treasonable felony and economic sabotage. In a statement late Friday by a spokesperson for the NLC, Benson Upah, Labour said economic saboteurs wear flowing Agbada (robes), drive in convoys and occupy the corridors of power. On Thursday, Akume said the shutdown of the National Grid by members of the NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC) amounted to treasonable felony. He lamented the loss…
Author: Farouk Abbas
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OVER 10 Nigerian teenage girls allegedly trafficked to Ghana for prostitution have been rescued, says the Chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa. The girls, all under the age of 18, were reportedly lured from Nigeria to Ghana by a nameless man who has now been arrested by the police in neighbouring West African country. According to the NIDCOM boss, the girls were rescued by the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO), an umbrella association for Nigerians living in Ghana. In a viral video which showed the girls after they were rescued, a NIDO official was heard saying,…
KEBBI State Independent Electoral Commission (KESIEC) has announced the date for the conduct of local government elections for chairmanship and councillorship in the 21 local government areas of the state. A statement from the State Electoral Commission headquarters signed by its Chairman, Aliyu Muhammad Mera, in Birnin Kebbi, indicated that the elections would hold on 31st August 2024 for the contest of seats for the 21 local government chairmen and 225 councillors throughout the state. The commission announced that nomination forms, contacts and all other relevant documents concerning the elections could be obtained from the Secretariat in Birnin Kebbi. KESIEC…
THE Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal has fined the prominent Pay-TV operator, Multichoice Nigeria, owners of DSTV, GOTV, ₦150 million for disputing the court’s jurisdiction, and ordered the company to provide Nigerians with a one-month free subscription to its subscribers. A three-man panel led by Thomas Okusu gave the verdict on Friday. The tribunal had previously blocked Multichoice from raising subscription fees without proper notice, based on a lawsuit by Barrister Festus Onifade who claimed the eight-day notice given for the price increase was inadequate. Onifade had sued DSTV, accusing the Pay-TV of unjustly increasing subscription fees without one month’s…
THE House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill seeking to establish a new state in the southeastern region known as Orlu State. The bill which passed first reading was sponsored by Hon. Ikeagwuonu Ugochinyere, member representing Ideato North South Federal Constituency of Imo State, along with other co-sponsoring lawmakers. According to the draft bill, the creation of Orlu State will amend the 1999 Constitution, increasing the number of states in Nigeria from 36 to 37. The new state, with Orlu as its capital city, will be created from portions of Imo, Abia, and Anambra states. The bill seeks to…
FORMER Kano State Governor and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) 2023 Presidential Candidate, Engr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has filed a lawsuit at the Kano State High Court, presided over by Justice Yusuf Ubale to restrain the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) from arresting him. A reliable source told this newspaper that Kwankwaso is being investigated over alleged N2.5bn pension fraud and misappropriation of another 2.5bn campaign funds. News Point Nigeria had reported how the former senator was grilled by EFCC interrogators last Thursday. A source in the anti-graft agency familiar with the matter but had no authourisation to speak,…
SIXTEEN members of the United States House of Representatives, have petitioned President Joe Biden, urging him to intervene, as they demand the return of detained Binance executive, Tigran Gambaryan, to the United States from Nigeria. He was arrested by the Federal Government in February. Gambaryan was initially held at a guest house before formal charges were brought against him and Binance in an Abuja court in April. He was accused alongside the company, of charges including non-payment of value-added tax and corporate income tax, and complicity in aiding customers to evade taxes through its platform. “On behalf of Mr. Gambaryan,…
AN Abuja-Kaduna train AK3 derailed on Wednesday at the Asham station in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). According to the Director Public Affairs and Consumer Protection of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), Bimbo Olawumi, the incident occurred at 3:52pm, shortly after the train departed the Kubwa station in the nation’s capital. She further stated that the derailed part of the train was detached and the train departed the scene of the incident at about 6:54pm and arrived at the Idu station with all passengers on board. As of the time of filing this report, the cause of the incident…
THE Organised Labour has vowed to reject any lean addition to the ₦60,000 offer by the tripartite committee on the new minimum wage. The President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, stated this on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Tuesday monitored by News Point Nigeria, hours after the Organised Labour comprising the TUC and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) suspended its industrial action which started at 12:01 am on Monday. “At the meeting on Friday, they (the tripartite committee) said they would not add anything more to the ₦60,000 but in the meeting of yesterday (Monday), Mr…
ONE person has been confirmed dead, several others injured, and 30 persons including the site manager still trapped as a mining pit collapsed in the Galkago community of Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State. The Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency Abdullahi Baba’arah and made available to newsmen in Minna, the mining pit was reported to have collapsed around Monday afternoon. He said the agency received a report of a mining site which collapsed on June 3, at Galkogo village of Shiroro. He said, “One person has been confirmed dead, six persons rescued with severe injuries…
THE Police Service Commission has announced the approval and release of a list of 10,000 successful applicants for recruitment into the constable and specialist cadres of the Nigeria Police Force. The commission noted that to ensure fairness and justice in the recruitment process, it worked with guidance from relevant stakeholders, including the Nigeria Police Force, the National Assembly, and the Federal Character Commission. It added that it ensured equity in the spread of successful candidates across the 774 local government areas of the country. The spokesperson for the PSC, Ikechukwu Ani, made the development known in a statement on Tuesday.…
AS the nationwide strike by the Organised Labour over a new minimum wage for workers paralyse economic activities in Nigeria, the Federal Government has invited labour leaders to a meeting in Abuja, the country’s political capital. The meeting, which is presently ongoing, has the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero; and his counterpart in the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, in attendance. On the government’s side is the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume; Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris Malagi; Labour Minister Nkiruka Onyejeocha; among others. Businesses, airports, universities, hospitals and power supply…
RANO Air has announced disruption of its flight schedules due to the ongoing strike by the organised labour comprising Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC). The announcement was made in a statement made available to News Point Nigeria, Monday. According to the statement, the airline is firmly monitoring the situation, and will provide relevant updates soon. See full statement below: Rano Air FLIGHTS DISRUPTION Dear valued Passenger, We write to notify you that due to the ongoing national strike by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and their associates, airports across the nation have…
THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has revoked the banking licence of Heritage Bank Plc with immediate effect. A statement by the Ag. Director, Corporate Communications of the Appex bank, Hakama Ali, on Monday, said the move was under its mandate to promote a sound financial system in Nigeria, and in exercise of its powers under Section 12 of the Banks and Other Financial Act (BOFIA) 2020. According to Ali, the bank had breached Section 12 (1) of BOFIA, 2020, adding that the Board and Management of the bank have not been able to improve the bank’s financial performance, a…
FIVE persons have been killed with three seriously injured following a windstorm that occurred on Saturday night in Bauchi state. The injured victims are receiving treatment at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital Bauchi. Most of the victims were brought in from the venue of the recently concluded joint northeast trade fair at Ibrahim Babangida Square in the Bauchi metropolis. The Public Relations Officer of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital Bauchi, Abdullahi Kobi, confirmed the casualty figures to Channels TV in a telephone conversation on Sunday. “It is true that we received a certain number of casualties…
THE governor of Bauchi State Bala Mohammed has pleaded with labour to shelve its planned strike, saying the move will hurt the nation’s economy. His comment came a day after the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) declared an indefinite strike beginning from Monday owing to the hike in electricity tariff and the government’s inability to reach a consensus with them on a new minimum wage. Shortly after his Saturday visit to the Governor of Abia State Alex Otti alongside Edo’s Godwin Obaseki and members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Working Committee (NWC), Governor…
POLICE authorities in Bauchi State have apprehended a man accused of attempting to sell his five-year-old daughter for N1.5 million. The suspect identified as Yusuf Umar, 49, claimed to be a staff of the Warji Local Government Council. According to the police report, Umar had already arranged to hand over the child to an unknown person, unaware that the potential buyer was an undercover police detective. “On the 26th of May 2024, the accused to the infant 5-year-old daughter from the estranged wife in Warji LGA under the pretence that he would take her to his sister in Bauchi town.…
AGAIN, scores of activists hit the streets of Lagos on Saturday demanding an end to what they described as the mischievous use of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission platform to malign perceived enemies by opposition forces. The activists, who frowned at the consistent call for anarchy in a democratic setting by those that their investigations had established to be working for known opposition figures in Kogi State, called on the EFCC to ignore the “sponsored, desperate calls” and focus on toeing the path of the rule of law. The over 80 Human Rights Civil Society Organizations, under the broad…
THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) have declared a nationwide strike beginning from Monday, June 3rd, 2024 over the tripartite committee’s inability to agree on a new minimum wage and hike in electricity tariff. The President of the TUC Festus Osifo announced the strike at a joint news conference with the leadership of the NLC in Abuja on Friday. According to the labour leaders, the decision follows the expiration of an earlier request to the Federal Government to conclude all negotiations for a new minimum wage before the end of May. “In light of this persistent…
IN his effort to reduce the menace of out-of-school children in Adamawa State, foremost Adamawa humanitarian and philanthropist, Dr. Emmanuel N. Musa has donated N200 million to 200,000 pupils across the state in commemoration of this year’s Children’s Day. The gesture according to the philanthropist is to remove some of the little encumbrances which contribute significantly to the menace of out-of-school children in the state. Adamawa State which is one of the frontline states afflicted by Boko Haram insurgency has been grappling with the scourge of out-of-school. Concerned over the development which has a debilitating portent on the future of…