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…
Author: Abdullahi Maitama Sani
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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…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, OON, as Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, with effect from August 14, 2024. This was disclosed in a statement released by the President’s media aide, Ajuri Ngelale, on Wednesday. According to the statement, the new appointee will take over from the incumbent Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, CFR, who is due to retire on August 13, 2024. President Tinubu, while thanking the outgoing Head of Service for her stewardship, tasks the incoming Head of Service to discharge her duties…
THE Senate, on Wednesday, announced the removal of Senator Mohamed Ali Ndume (Borno South) as Chief Whip. When put to voice vote by the Senate President Godswill Akpabio, members of the APC Senate Caucus endorsed Ndume’s removal as Senate Chief Whip during plenary. Ndume was replaced by Tahir Mungono (Borno North). This comes amid his recent criticisms of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government. In a letter addressed to the Senate Caucus by the national leadership of the ruling party, the APC asked Ndume to resign his membership of the APC and join any opposition party of his choice. The letter…
THE Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Tuesday dismissed a suit challenging the use of Arabic inscriptions on Naira notes. Justices Yellin Bogoro held that Section 53 (1) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) empowers the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to print, design and issue the currency and compels the need to establish bad faith before an action can be brought to challenge the act or omission of the Federal Government or the apex court. The court also held that the suit brought by a Lagos-based lawyer, Malcom Omirhobo, challenging the Arabic inscriptions on Naira…
A MEMBER of the House of Representatives Ekene Abubakar Adams has died. The Labour Party (LP) lawmaker was 39. “The House of Representatives is saddened to announce the passing of a dear member of the 10th Assembly, Rep. Ekene Abubakar Adams (LP, Kaduna), who died early Tuesday, at the age of 39,” the spokesman of the House Akin Rotimi Jr said in a statement on Tuesday. A first-time member of the House, Ekene Adams chaired the House of Representatives Committee on Sports. The Reps spokesman described the deceased lawmaker as “a kind and gentle humanitarian, loved by all who knew…
THE Federal Government has reached an agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to allow Nigerian passport holders to obtain visas for travel to that Arab nation starting today, July 15, 2024. The Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this on Monday when he briefed State House correspondents following the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting. The announcement comes more than two years after the UAE suspended visa issuance to Nigerians following a period of protracted diplomatic row with Africa’s most populous nation. It also comes about two months after UAE national carrier Emirates Airlines announced the resumption of flights…
THE Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Procurement, Honourable Unyime Idem, has warned government officials against dishonouring parliamentary invitations. The warning was issued on Monday, during a Public Hearing on a bill for an act to amend the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management Act 2007. According to him, the committee will not hesitate to invoke its legislative powers against offenders. The committee says the bill is to uphold the legal and institutional framework for the enthronement of transparency, accountability, value for money and efficiency in the procurement of works, goods and services within Ministries, Departments,…
PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Sunday condemned an assassination attempt on former US President, Donald Trump, describing the attack as distasteful. Trump, the Republican candidate for the November election, was rushed off stage when gunshots were fired at a campaign rally on Saturday in Pennsylvania, in a shocking incident that will fuel anxiety in the run-up to the 2024 election. A day after the incident, Tinubu joined world leaders to decry the attack, saying violence has no place in democracy. “The attack on former President Donald Trump is distasteful and goes beyond the pale of democratic norms. Violence has no…
AN Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) simply identified as Owolabi, has been arrested for allegedly defiling a 17-year old girl in the Ojota area of Lagos. The officer was alleged to have had carnal knowledge of the girl in his office at Ojota Police Station. His arrest followed a referral letter dated July 1, 2024, and addressed to the Commissioner of Police, Adegoke Fayoade, by the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency. Based on the referral letter, the Commissioner of Police ordered for immediate investigation into the matter. Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, who confirmed the…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Mainasara Kogoa as the new chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) and Omolola Oloworaran as the Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom). The appointments were contained in separate Saturday statements by President Tinubu’s spokesman Ajuri Ngelale. “President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Dr. Mainasara Umar Kogo as the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT),” Ngelale said. “Dr. Kogo is a seasoned lawyer and analyst in the fields of law, security, economy, politics, and international diplomacy.” On PenCom, he said, “President Bola Tinubu has approved the…
PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the appointment of Mr. Baffa Dan Agundi as the new Director-General of the National Productivity Centre (NPC). A statement issued by Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President, (Media & Publicity), on Saturday said Mr. Dan Agundi is a former majority leader of the Kano State House of Assembly. He was also the Principal Registrar of the Kano State High Court of Justice. Tinubu also appointed Mr. Silas Agara as the new Director-General of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE). According to Ngalale, the National Directorate of Employment will be overhauled to combat unemployment…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has sympathised with the victims of the Plateau building collapse over the incident he labelled as a “huge loss to the nation”. About 132 persons were injured and 22 others were confirmed dead following Friday’s tragic collapse of the two-storey structure in a school in the Busa Buji, Jos North Local Government Area of the state. While consoling the victims and the people of Plateau State over the incident, Tinubu’s spokesman Ajuri Ngelale said his principal received the news of the tragedy “with profound grief”. “President Tinubu describes the unfortunate incident as a huge loss to the…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has sacked Mohammed Bello-Koko as the managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and appointed Abubakar Dantsoho as his replacement. Bello-Koko was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari in May 2021 as acting MD and his appointment was confirmed in February 2022. This is contained in a statement issued on Friday by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, titled “President Tinubu appoints new Managing Director and Board Chairman for the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).” Tinubu appointed Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho as the Managing Director of the NPA while Senator Adedayo Adeyeye was appointed the…
THE Federal Government has inaugurated the Presidential Food Systems Coordination Unit (PFSCU) as part of its efforts to tackle the prevailing hardship in the land. While inaugurating the unit at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, on Friday, Vice President Kashim Shettima said it was part of the present administration’s ongoing plan to tackle hunger. The presidency has also engaged the states, development partners and other critical stakeholders in the efforts to address the soaring prices of commodities and general food insecurity in the country. Addressing members comprising governors, cabinet ministers and representatives of development partners, Shettima said, “The nation is…