NLC Kicks Against FG Salary Increment For Civil Servants

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has kicked against the increase in the salary for civil servants on the remaining six Consolidated Salary Structures. The Bola Tinubu government, on Tuesday, approved an increase of between 25 per cent and 35 per cent in salary for civil servants on the remaining six Consolidated Salary Structures. A statement signed by the Head of Press of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC), Emmanuel Njoku said the increases take effect from 1st January 2024. The statement said the Salary Structures included are the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure (CONPSS), Consolidated Research and Allied Institutions Salary Structure (CONRAISS), Consolidated Police Salary Structure (CONPOSS), Consolidated Para-military Salary Structure (CONPASS), Consolidated Intelligence Community Salary Structure (CONICCS) and Consolidated Armed Forces Salary Structure (CONAFSS). Reacting to the development in a chat with ThisDay on Tuesday, the NLC spokesman, Comrade Benson Upah said the gesture should be extended to all the categories of Civil Servants. He said although details of the government’s statement have not been formally received by the NLC, the pay rise was for certain categories of workers in the public service. Upah said the salary increase is a welcome development and that the government should ensure that the margin is reflective of the harsh economic situation in the country. He said: “I am yet to see the details of the statement but from what I heard, those affected by the pay rise are from the specialized Service.  “These categories of workers are already in the privileged sector but we expect it to be extended also to other categories of Civil Servants who are in lower cadre and are vulnerable”. The labour leader also lamented the dire situation where even basic necessities such as transportation, education and healthcare had become unaffordable for Nigerian workers. He said workers are currently seeking a return to better days, with a better life, better electricity, better infrastructure and enhanced salary.

Nigerian Government Offers Free Ride On Port Harcourt-Aba Railway 

The Nigerian Federal Government has announced a generous initiative, offering free passenger train rides on the recently rehabilitated Port Harcourt to Aba railway line. Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transport, Oloruntola Oluremi, revealed the news on Tuesday night. The complimentary rides will be available for four days, from May 1 to May 4. Departures from Port Harcourt are scheduled for 8 am daily, with return trips from Aba at 3 pm. Full commercial operations will resume on May 7. This announcement follows the inauguration of the Port Harcourt-Aba rail line by Minister Senator Said Alkali earlier in the week. Alkali emphasized that such endeavors reflect the government’s commitment to enhancing trade and mobility across the nation. The statement reads, “There will be a free train ride between Port-Harcourt and Aba on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th of May 2024. “The train will be departing Port-Harcourt everyday by 8am for Aba. It will also be departing Aba every day for Port -Harcourt by 3pm. Full commercial operations resume on Tuesday 7th May 2024″.

Tinubu Govt Approves Salary Increase For Civil Servants

The Federal Government has approved an increase of between 25% and 35% in salary increase for Civil Servants on the remaining six Consolidated Salary Structures. A statement signed by the Head of Press of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC), Emmanuel Njoku, said the increases take effect from 1st January 2024. Njoku added that the government has also approved increases in pension of between 20% and 28% for pensioners on the Defined Benefits Scheme with respect to the above-mentioned six consolidated salary structures with effect from 1st January 2024. The Salary Structure is the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure (CONPSS), Consolidated Research and Allied Institutions Salary Structure (CONRAISS), Consolidated Police Salary Structure (CONPOSS), Consolidated Para-military Salary Structure (CONPASS), Consolidated Intelligence Community Salary Structure (CONICCS) and Consolidated Armed Forces Salary Structure (CONAFSS). It will be recalled that those in the Tertiary Education and Health Sectors had already received their increases which involved Consolidated University Academic Salary Structure (CONUASS) and Consolidated Tertiary Institutions Salary Structure (CONTISS) for Universities. For Polytechnics and Colleges of Education, it involved the Consolidated Polytechnics and Colleges of Education Academic Staff Salary Structure (CONPCASS) and Consolidated Tertiary Educational Institutions Salary Structure (CONTEDISS). The Health Sector also benefitted through the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) and Consolidated Health Sector Salary Structure (CONHESS).

Nigerian Peace Corps Establishment Bill Introduced, Passed First Reading in the Senate

The Nigerian Peace Corps Establishment Bill, earlier passed by the House of Representatives on 29th February 2024 and transmitted to the Senate for concurrence, was read on the floor of Senate and passed through first reading. With this development, a motion for concurrence to be sponsored by the Senate Leader, Sen. Micheal Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti Central) will come up shortly to enable the Senate to adopt the Bill in line with the extant rules of the National Assembly. The Peace Corps of Nigeria established over 25 years ago by the National Commandant, Dr Dickson Akoh, is incorporated in Nigeria under the Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) and accorded the Federal Government recognition through the Federal Ministry of Youth Development and granted license to operate in the Country as a Non-Governmental Organization by the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning. Aside the Peace Corps bill, the Senate also passed for first reading, Nigerian Hunters and Security Service Bill 2024, Legislative Houses (Powers & Privileges) Act (Amendment) Bill 2024 and National Talent Rehabilitation and Integration Agency (Establishment) Bill 2024. Others are the Agricultural Research Council Act (Amendment) Bill 2024 and Agricultural Harvest and Processing Zone (Establishment) bill 2024.

Terrorism: Miyetti Allah President, Bodejo knows fate on bail application May 30

Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed May 30 for ruling in a bail application filed by the detained leader of the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Bello Bodejo, Bodejo who was accused of unlawfully establishing an ethnic militia group, Kungiya Zaman Lafiya to promote terrorism has been in the custody of the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) in Abuja. He was arraigned in March on a three-count charge filed by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), in which he was accused of violating the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022. He denied the charges Moving application for his bail on Tuesday Bodejo’s lawyer, Ahmed Raji, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), pleaded with Justice Ekwo to admit his client to bail on various grounds ranging from ill health to fundamental rights. He asked the court for “an order admitting the defendant to bail on liberal terms pending the hearing and determination of the charges preferred against him.” The senior lawyer predicated the bail request on the ground that Bodejo “suffers from grave ill-health and that the offences are bailable. Citing Section 36 of the Nigerian constitution, Raji said his client is presumed innocent until proven guilty adding that the charge against Bodejo did not disclose any crime against him. Contrary to government assertions, Raji informed the court that launching of the group by his client was done in a public place with Police Commissioner and personnel of other security agencies as well as Nasarawa State government officials in attendance. In an affidavit deposed to by Mohammed Musa, a brother to Mr Bodejo,in support of the bail bid, he said the Miyetti Allah leader who was arrested by DIA personnel on 23 January, has “been denied access to his lawyers, family members, friends and well wishers.” Musa described Bodejo as a “patriotic Nigerian citizen who goes about his business within the ambit of the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.” The deponent further said that Bodejo “neither established nor has any involvement with the ethnic militia group as alleged in the charge against him.” He explained that the essence of establishing the vigilante company was to provide security services to the members of the society and not to commit any act of terrorism as alleged by giving. However ,the federal government, through it’s lawyer, Y.A Imana, urged the court to reject Bodejo’s bail application on the ground that charges against the defendant borders on threat to national security. After taking arguments from the two parties, Justice Ekwo fixed 30th May for ruling in the bail application.

There Will Be Total Blackout For The Next Three Months If You Reject New Policy – Minister of Power Warns Senate

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has warned that there will be a total blackout in Nigeria in the next three months if the proposed electricity tariff hike is not implemented. The minister stated this yesterday in Abuja when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Power at an investigative hearing over the recent electricity tariff hike by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). This is after the Senate committee, led by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, rejected the new tariff regime. Adelabu warned that the entire sector would be grounded if the Commission fails to increase the tariff. Adelabu said, “The entire sector will be grounded if we don’t increase the tariff. With what we have now in the next three months, the entire country will be in darkness if we don’t increase tariffs. “The increment will catapult us to the next level. We are also Nigerians. We are also feeling the impact.” He said $10 billion yearly for the next ten years is needed to revive the nation’s power sector and nip in the bud the challenges bedevilling it. “For this sector to be revived, the government needs to spend nothing less than 10 billion dollars annually in the next 10 years. “This is because of the infrastructure requirement for the stability of the sector. But the government can not afford that. And so we must make this sector attractive to investors and to lenders. “So, for us to attract investors and investment, we must make the sector attractive, and the only way it can be made attractive is that there must be commercial pricing. “If the value is still at N66 and the government is not paying subsidy, the investors will not come. But now that we have increased the tariff for A Band, there are interests being shown by investors,” he said.

NNPCL Reveals Date Petrol Scarcity Will End Across Nigeria

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd affirmed on Tuesday that the ongoing fuel scarcity and queues across the country will be cleared out by Wednesday, April 31. The Chief Communications Officer, NNPCL, Olufemi Soneye, confirmed this to newsmen on Tuesday in Lagos. According to Soneye, the company currently has products available exceeding 1.5 billion litres, which can last for at least 30 days. He said, “Unfortunately, we experienced a three-day disruption in distribution due to logistical issues, which has since been resolved. “However, as you know, overcoming such disruptions typically requires double the amount of time to return to normal operations. “Some folks are taking advantage of this situation to maximize profits. “Thankfully, product scarcity has been minimal lately, but these folks might be exploiting the situation for unwarranted gain. “The lines will be cleared out between today and tomorrow.” Similarly, the National Vice President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (lPMAN), Hammed Fashola, expressed hope that the queues in Lagos and Ogun would ease off this week, relying on the words of the NNPCL. Fashola, however, stated that the queues in Abuja might tarry a bit due to the distance to Lagos. He said, “The information available to us from the NNPCL was that there was a logistics problem, and when that happens, it will disrupt the supply chain. “That might be a delay in the movement of ships from the mother vessel to the daughter vessel before it gets to the depot tanks. “Before we can correct that, surely it will take some days. I think by Tuesday or Wednesday, there will be more products available for lifting by marketers. “It might take time before it can ease off in Abuja, considering the distance to Lagos and the bad roads; Lagos might be calm this new week.”

We didn’t shoot pro-Yahaya Bello protesters in Abuja —EFCC 

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) refutes claims of firing at supporters of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, during a demonstration at its Abuja headquarters.  According to EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale, there was no such incident as depicted in a video circulating on social media. He said the operatives only dispersed the protesters who went to the commission’s headquarters to disrupt activities. The EFCC spokesperson added: ”No arrests were made as claimed by the group. “Two groups demonstrated at the commission today. The first group came with a letter of commendation in support of the EFCC anti-corruption fight. ”They presented their letter, which was received by the Director of Public Enlightenment Department, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, who promised to deliver their message to the chairman. ”Not quite long, another group came. These people were violent and destructive; the men of the commission had to chase them away. “It is not true, nobody was arrested and there was no shootout.” Bello’s supporters had gone to the EFCC office to protest his alleged political persecution. The pro-Bello protest was staged by the Kogi Youth Coalition. They claimed they were attacked by the EFCC operatives. The group claimed that the first group of protesters were allowed into the commission but the pro-Bello group were denied entry. Videos of the protesters struggling to make their statements while being harassed and scampering for safety flooded social media with a picture of a badly damaged vehicle. The group claimed that about 10 members were arrested while many were injured.

PayTV Operators Have Right To Fix Prices – BON

The Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) says that pay TV operators and other related service providers in the country have the choice and right to fix their desired fees. DSTV and GoTv are billed to begin a review in the new price hike l 1, 2024. BON’s position stems from the social media calls on the Federal Competition and Con¬sumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to review the new price hike proposition. In a statement issued by BON and signed by its Exec¬utive Secretary, Yemisi Bamg-bose, tagged ‘Increase in Price of Goods and Services – Let Pay Tv Providers Fix their Prices’, it took exceptions to the posi¬tion of some netizens for kick¬ing against the upward price review by MultiChoice, owner of DsTV and GoTv. According to Bamgbose, “I was going through social media last Friday, and I came across a story titled ‘FCCPC to review the new price hike for DSTV and GOTV’. What a wonderful way of protecting consumers’ interests. “I would have given FCCPC thumbs up if they have been intervening on price matters, most especially those that have direct bearing on the livelihood of the masses. If the mandate of FCCPC includes price con¬trol of goods and services in a free and deregulated economy, where was the organisation when bakers association in the country increased the cost of a loaf of bread more than 200% in the last one year? Bread is an essential commodity. What took away the mandate of FC¬CPC to review the cost of the most staple food of the com¬mon man which Nigerians can no longer afford?” Stating further, Bamgbose expressed doubts if FCCPC was aware that a sachet of pure water had been increased from N5 to N20 in the last one year. She also queried why FCCPC didn’t stop the bottling companies in the country from astro-nomically increasing the cost of Malt and other soft drinks and didn’t call stakeholders meeting to review the new prices. On the cost of a bag of cement which has now been in¬creased from N4,000 in the last one year, she asked why FCCPC did not deem it fit to invite Dangote, BUA and Lafarge cement manufacturers with relevant stakeholders to discuss the more than 100% increase on a bag of cement. Aviation sector, according to her, on a daily ba¬sis, increases the cost of domes¬tic flights. In the education sector, she wondered why FCCPC could not call for the review of the cost being charged by private educational institutions, especially those charging in dollars in a country where naira is the legal tender. “On the part of broadcasting, I want to assume that FC¬CPC does not know what goes into the business of broadcasting. Perhaps, that could inform the decision of the agency to plan the proposed review of the increase in the price of DsTv and GoTv pay TV channels, respectively. “I would not blame FCCPC for inadequate information about the challenges confronting players in the broadcast sector, more so, that media practitioners are saddled with the responsibility of dancing the dance of other people and also mandated to carry loads of others on their heads while leaving their own luggage un¬attended. nels, state owned radio and TV stations, private radio stations, etc where consumers don’t pay to listen to radio or watch television. There are subscription channels such as MULTI¬CHOICE, GOtv, TNtv, STAR¬TIMES, etc where viewers pay to watch and listen. There are choices.” She said that during COVID-19 pandemic, stations burnt diesel without adverts or other sources of revenue for more than twelve months in national interest. “The centre is yet to hold before the last straw that broke the camel’s back came in the name of subsidy removal from petroleum products as well as floating of the nation’s currency”, BON said. The challenge, according to her, is that not many people buy diesel to run business and they can switch on and off as they want depending on their needs. They should not be blamed for not knowing what it means to buy a litre above N1,500. To sev¬eral others, the removal of fuel subsidy affected the premium motor spirit only, it noted. “The cost of diesel rose from N200 per litre in 2021 to N1,700 per litre in 2023/24, and broad¬cast stations have to transmit for twenty-four hours changing from one generator to the other. “None of the national stations such as Channels TV, Arise, TVC, AIT, Silverbird, NTA, amongst others, commits less than N100 million on diesel on monthly basis to keep their mandate of information, education and entertainment. “It may interest the public to know that many, if not all, of the national radio and television stations in Nigeria have not been able to break-even since 2020 when the nation’s economy was shut down as a result to COVID-19 pandemic. In Nigeria, we want everything free. “What subscribers pay to MultiChoice, Startimes or any DTT and DTH is the quality of content of many channels brought direct to their homes or offices. It’s a business and there are choices.

Court stops Dstv, Gotv from increasing subscription prices

A Federal High Court in Abuja has issued an order to halt the planned increase in subscription prices by Multichoice Nigeria Limited, the operator of DStv and GOtv. The court’s decision comes in response to Multichoice’s announcement of a forthcoming price increment across its DStv and GOtv packages, set to take effect from May 1, 2024.  The company cited a rise in the cost of business operations in Nigeria due to price adjustments. According to the notice signed by Multichoice CEO John Ugbe, subscribers received via email, the new prices for DStv packages included increases for the Premium package, now priced at N37,000 monthly, up from the current N29,500 subscription fee.  Similarly, the Compact+ bouquet increased to N25,000 from N19,800 monthly, while the Compact bouquet would cost N15,700 instead of the current N12,500. For GOtv users, price adjustments were also announced, with increases across packages such as Supa Plus, Supa, Max, and Jolli. However, the court’s intervention has temporarily put a stop to the planned price increases, offering relief to subscribers who expressed concerns over the successive hikes in subscription fees over the past year. Multichoice had faced criticism for the frequency of its subscription fee increments, with this being the third increase in the past year alone.