AHEAD of the planned nationwide protest in August, the Minister for Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has appealed to Nigerians to be patient with the Federal Government. The minister made the plea on Wednesday after a meeting with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume. Briefing journalists after the meeting, Mohammed said the Federal Government was engaging with all stakeholders on the matter. “You see, the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu believes in everyone’s freedom within the laws to do what he thinks is right for him. Therefore, the President is not an opponent…
Author: Abdullahi Maitama Sani
SENATE President Godswill Akpabio has announced that the newly approved minimum wage now applies to all workers across both public and private sectors, including maids and other domestic staff. Akpabio stated this during the plenary session on Tuesday. The bill was speedily passed by both chambers of the National Assembly just after it was transmitted by President Bola Tinubu. Speaking during the plenary, the Senate President said, “If you are a tailor and you employ additional hands, you cannot pay them below N70,000. If you are a mother with a newborn child and you want to hire a housemaid to…
THE Federal Government has scheduled an emergency meeting for Wednesday (today) morning in response to a planned nationwide protest slated for August 1. This comes after President Bola Tinubu pleaded with the organisers to shelve the protests and give his administration more time to execute people-oriented programmes. A circular shared with The PUNCH on Tuesday by sources with knowledge of the meeting indicated that all the ministers, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume and the Special Advisers to the President on Policy and Coordination, Hadiza Bala-Usman; Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga and former Minister of Youth…
BILLIONAIRE business mogul, Femi Otedola, has explained why Nigerians, particularly the government should support the Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, by creating an enabling environment to ensure businesses thrive. He argued that Dangote’s contributions which extend beyond industrial facilities to critical infrastructure, must be recognised and supported by all means. Otedola, who rose in defence of his friend and business ally in a post on his X account on Tuesday, described Dangote as a “titan that God created specially for mankind”. “In Nigeria, we have our own titans, and it is imperative that we recognize and support them. Aliko…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has appealed to Nigerians to shelve a planned ‘EndBadGovernance’ protest slated for next month. Information Minister Mohammed Idris, who briefed selected State House correspondents after a meeting with the President on Tuesday, said Tinubu urged the organisers of the protest to shelve the plan and await the President’s response to their complaints. “The issue of the planned protest, Mr President does not see any need for that. He’s asked them to shelve that plan. He’s asked them to await the government’s response to all their pleas,” the minister said. The protest against economic hardship, which is gaining…
THE Senate on Tuesday speedily passed the National Minimum Wage Act 2019 (Amendment Bill). The bill, which scaled second and third readings, just minutes after it was transmitted by President Bola Tinubu, was instantly passed by the upper chamber. In a unanimous vote after a clause consideration in the Committee of the Whole, the National Minimum Wage Bill scaled third reading and was passed. Earlier on Tuesday, the President transmitted the National Minimum Wage Bill to the National Assembly for consideration and passage. The President separately wrote the Senate and the House of Representatives requesting expedited consideration of a bill…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has transmitted a national minimum wage bill to the House of Representatives in the National Assembly for consideration and passage. The President and the leadership of the Organised Labour had last Thursday agreed on ₦70,000 as the new minimum wage for Nigerian workers. Information Minister Mohammed Idris had said “the new national minimum that Mr President is expected to submit to the National Assembly is ₦70,000”. The truce between the government and labour sides followed a series of talks between labour leaders and the President in the last few weeks after months of failed talks between labour…
THE Senate and the National Council for Women Society (NCWS) have sought for inclusion of domestic servants in the proposed 70,000 naira National Minimum Wage Scheme. This was highlighted during a public hearing by the Senate Committee on Employment, Labour, and Productivity on a bill for an Act to Provide for Domestication and Registration of Domestic Workers and Employers in Nigeria. The Senator representing Imo West Osita Izunaso as well as the Acting National President of NCWS Geraldeen Etuk especially argued for the inclusion of domestic servants in the proposed National Minimum Wage law and asserted that part of the…
SENATE President Godswill Akpabio has raised alarm over the persistent economic sabotage that has undermined investor confidence in the petroleum sector, declaring that the Senate must identify and hold those accountable for the criminal acts. Akpabio made the declaration on Monday during the inauguration of the Senate ad-hoc committee to investigate alleged sabotage in the sector. At the inauguration, the Senate President stated that it is not merely an investigation but a rescue mission for the nation’s future. He said that it is a matter of national security and sovereignty and, if left unchecked, could cripple the economy for generations…
THE Federal Government has waded into the open spat between the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority (NMDPRA) and the newly established Dangote Refinery. Consequently, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, has convened a crucial meeting with key stakeholders, including businessman Aliko Dangote and NMDPRA leadership, to address ongoing disputes affecting the take-off of Dangote Refinery. The meeting aimed to foster collaboration and resolve issues hindering the refinery’s operations, which many hoped would alleviate Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products. Present at the meeting were president of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote; chief executive of NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed;…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu on Sunday reeled out the achievements of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to African leaders. “We supported six member states in ratifying the WTO Fisheries Subsidies Agreement, and thirteen Member States have ratified the AFCFTA agreement,” the statement quoted Tinubu who is the regional bloc’s chairman. “The ECOWAS interconnected System for the Management of Goods in Transit (SIGMAT) is also operational in twelve Member States,” the President stated. Detailing the efforts on the humanitarian and social development front, President Tinubu said ECOWAS has allocated $9 million to assist persons of concern, including refugees, internally…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has felicitated Justice Stella Anukam, on her re-election as Judge of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, for another term of six years. Justice Anukam was re-elected at the African Union Mid-Year Coordination Meeting Executive Council in Accra, Ghana, on Friday. The Nigerian obtained her law degree from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife (formerly known as University of Ife), Osun State, Nigeria, in 1984, and was called to the Nigerian Bar in August 1985. She is also a chartered secretary, chartered arbitrator, and seasoned administrator. Justice Anukam has served as former Director of Special Programmes at…
THE joint committee of the House of Representatives investigating arbitrary rise of cement price in the country, has asked major producers in the industry to tender documents on cost production to justify the price of cement in the market. The committee resolved to visit production plants of the companies after going though their books to ascertain the cost of production with a view to determine a fair price of cement for all Nigerians. The Chairman of the joint committee, Jonathan Gaza (APC-Nasarawa) made the demand on Friday at a public hearing while quizzing Dangote Cement Company and Lafarge Africa Plc…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu is scheduled to depart Abuja for Accra, Ghana on Saturday, July 20. According to a Friday statement by the presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, Tinubu is to participate in the sixth mid-year coordination meeting of the African Union (AU), the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the Regional Mechanisms (RMs), and the African Union member states. Tinubu, in his capacity as the Chairman of the ECOWAS authority of heads of state and government, will address the meeting on the status of regional integration across various areas in Africa, highlighting the achievements and challenges encountered in West Africa since the last…
SENATE President Godswill Akpabio, on Thursday, told the Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, that the Senate chamber was not a night club, therefore, she must be recognised before speaking during plenary. The Senators were debating a bill for an Act to establish National Road Transport Council, sponsored by the Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Oyelola Ashiru (APC Kwara South). The bill titled, ‘National Road Transportation Council (Establishment) Bill, 2024’, was aimed at “regulating the road transport industry and the transport profession and other related matters in Nigeria.” While many senators supported the bill, others including Senators Victor Umeh and Adams…
THE President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero; and his counterpart in the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, say the Organised Labour agreed to ₦70,000 as the new minimum wage for Nigerian workers because the wage reviews in the country will no longer be every five years but once in three years. They spoke on Thursday after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the State House in Abuja. Information Minister Mohammed Idris, Labour Minister Nkiruka Onyejeocha, and other officials from both sides flanked both Ajaero and Osifo. The NLC President said, “What has been announced in…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has approved N70,000 minimum wage for Nigerian workers, promising to review the national minimum wage law every three years. Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information, announced this at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, on Thursday. The minister said the agreement was reached at a meeting between President Bola Tinubu and the leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) on Thursday in Abuja. “We are happy to announce today (Thursday) that both the Organised Labour and the Federal Government have agreed on an increase on the N62,000 minimum wage. The new national minimum…
MEMBERS of the House of Representatives have agreed to cut their salaries by 50 percent for six months as part of their solidarity and sacrifice to support the economic hardship and hunger Nigerians are going through at the moment. This followed the adoption of an amendment to a motion’s prayer moved by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Benjamin Okezie Kalu, on the need for lawmakers to sacrifice 50% of their N600,000 monthly salaries to support Nigerians in view of the hardship in the land. Kalu’s amended prayer was to a motion by Rep Isiaka Ayokunle calling on proponents of…
THE House of Representatives on Thursday said it will investigate an alleged plot by International Oil Companies (IOCs) to frustrate the operations of Dangote refinery. This followed a matter of urgent national importance raised by the Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda. The lower chamber expressed worry that there could be an ongoing manipulation of the price of local crude, preventing the Dangote refinery from buying locally, thereby affecting the cost of the refined product. The lawmakers also said it would investigate the actual percentage of the Federal Government’s shares in Dangote refinery. According to Chinda, Dangote had said Nigeria owns 7.3…
STUDENTS of tertiary institutions who have successfully applied for the Federal Government’s loan scheme and who are starting fresh academic sessions will begin to receive credit alerts from next week, said NELFUND. “The people who are going to first receive alerts as early as next week are the people who are about to start a new session in the institution they are in,” NELFUND Managing Director Akintunde Sawyerr said on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday monitored by News Point Nigeria. He said other successful applicants won’t begin to receive credit alerts until the commencement of academic sessions in their…