Raising Minimum Wage Above N62,000 Will Lead to Job Losses, NECA Warns
The Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) has warned that approving a minimum wage above N62,000 could result in significant job losses. NECA’s Director-General, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, voiced this concern during a press briefing on Tuesday in Abuja. His comments came during the third edition of the Nigeria Employers Summit, which focused on “Economic Renaissance: Harnessing Government Reforms and Private Sector Agility.” Oyerinde emphasized that the organized private sector cannot afford a minimum wage higher than N62,000, a figure agreed upon during tripartite committee negotiation meetings. He cautioned that exceeding this amount could lead to non-compliance and subsequent legal battles. “Setting a national minimum wage that businesses cannot sustain will inevitably result in litigation and crises,” Oyerinde stated. In response to allegations of delays in the wage review process, Oyerinde clarified that there have been no unnecessary delays and that the process is actively progressing. “There is no waiting game, and I think we must put all this into context. It is misinformation,” he said. He explained that after the tripartite committee submits its recommendations to the president, a bill will be forwarded to the National Assembly for legislation. He also mentioned that labor groups can advocate for an expedited process.
Federal Govt commences toll collection on Keffi- Makurdi Highway
The federal government has commenced the collection of toll on the newly reconstructed Keffi-Makurdi highway. The rates as announced by the operator indicate that trucks shall pay a toll of N1,600 while commercial buses and light vehicles shall pay N500. Regular cars and SUV/Jeeps shall pay a toll of N500 and N800, respectively. Motorists who spoke to Nigerian Anchor expressed support for the collection of the toll, so long as the money shall be ploughed into maintenance of the road. Even though road statistics are not really up to date, estimates indicate that Nigeria has a total network of about 36,000 kilometres of federal highways. Most of the federal highways are in a very deplorable state. The current decision to toll some of the recently upgraded roads is to enable the government to derive revenue for maintenance and to extend repair work on other roads. Experts suggest that private funding should be harnessed through various concessional arrangements for the construction of the roads.
FEC Steps Down Minimum Wage Memo For Consultation
The federal Executive Council (FEC) has stepped down the memo on the new minimum wage. Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, told State House Correspondents that 39 items were on the agenda and all were taken. On the Minimum wage, he said there was a report by the Tripartite committee which comprises of local government, States , NLC/ TUC and the federal government. He said the Tripartite Committee submitted its report and there was a memo to that effect. He, however, said Council could not take a decision on it because it involves Local Government, states, FG, Organized Private Sector and Labour unions. He therefore said the memo on the new minimum wage was stepped down so that President Bola Tinubu could consult widely before a final submission is made to the National Assembly.
Customs Officer Dies During Public Hearing
A senior officer from the Nigerian Customs Service has collapsed and died during a session with the Public Account Committee of the House of Representatives. The identity of the deceased, remains unknown as of the time of this report. According to a statement issued by Honourable Akin Rotimi, spokesman for the House of Representatives, the officer experienced sudden health complications while fielding questions from committee members around 1:00 pm. Efforts to stabilize him were made swiftly by first responders and medical staff at the National Assembly clinic, but unfortunately, they were unable to revive him. “It is with deep sadness and regret that we confirm the passing of an esteemed official of the Nigeria Customs Service who was at the National Assembly for an engagement with a House Committee,” the statement read. The House of Representatives expressed heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of the deceased, acknowledging his significant contributions to the Customs Service and the nation as a whole. “We are deeply saddened by the sudden loss of a dedicated public servant. Our hearts go out to his family during this difficult time,” Speaker Tajudeen Abbas remarked. The incident occurred during ongoing investigations into revenue-generating agencies and government parastatals. The House assured full cooperation with relevant authorities to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the officer’s death and to ensure all necessary protocols are followed. Further updates on the matter are expected as investigations continue, while the family of the deceased has been urged to be given privacy to mourn their loss.
Senate Never Proposed New Aircraft For Tinubu, Shettima – Akpabio
The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio has dismissed the report that the 10th Senate is proposing that the Federal Government should procure new aircraft for President Bola Tinubu and his Vice, Senator Kashim Shettima. Speaking to newsmen in Maiduguri shortly after leading a delegation to pay a condolence visit to Senator Tahir Monguno over the death of his father, Akpabio noted that the report is not true. Last week, reports filtered in the media that the Senate President made a comment that the Senate would approve the purchase of new aircraft for the President and Vice President irrespective of the fact that Nigerians are hungry. The Senate President said the report was from propagandists and fifth columnists, stressing that the Senate was focused on delivering legislation that would support the actualisation of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. Akpabio, who expressed satisfaction with the present security situation of Borno State, urged Nigerians to continue to pray for the present administration. The Chairman of the National Assembly stated that, “I want to dispell the rumour that you are hearing that the Senate President said he will buy a new plane for the President and his Vice, irrespective of the fact that Nigerians are hungry or whatever. “I never said that. I was actually in Zanzibar, Tanzania, It is the handiwork of propagandists and fifth columnists, who never see anything good in what we are doing. Be rest assured, pray for the government, have patience and be assured that the combination of Tinubu and Shettima will bring wealth and prosperity to all. “I am happy to see that peace has returned to Borno, as a result of the hardwork of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I want to tell the good of people of Borno to continue to support the administration.”
BREAKING: NELFUND postpones student loan application for state-owned institutions
The Management of Nigerian Education Loan Fund on Tuesday announced a 14-day postponement of the application process for student loan for state institutions due” to low data submissions,” a statement by the agency said in Abuja. The Fund said the decision was necessitated by the failure of several state-owned institutions to upload the required student data and fee information to the NELFUND Student Verification System. “To date, only a limited number of state-owned institutions have successfully completed the data submission process. These include 20 state universities out of 48, 12 state colleges out of 54, and 2 state polytechnics out of 49. “While we acknowledge the efforts of these institutions, the failure to submit data from the remaining state institutions poses significant challenges to ensuring a seamless and accurate verification process for student loan applicants. “The application window, initially set to open on June 25, 2024, will now commence on July 10, 2024.” The Fund said the extension will provide additional time for state institutions to comply with the data submission requirements and ensure their students can benefit from the Federal Government student loan scheme. To facilitate an efficient and error-free application process, it is crucial that all state institutions provide complete and accurate information. This includes JAMB numbers, matriculation numbers, admission numbers, full names, level, faculties, departments, duration of program, fees, and gender of all eligible students. Incomplete or incorrect data submissions will result in application delays and potential disqualification for affected students. The fund urged all state institutions to expedite their data submission processes and ensure the accuracy of the information provided. It further warned that Institutions that fail to meet the revised deadline risk disadvantaging their students, who depend on these loans to support their education
Minimum Wage: Presidency Sends Message To Organised Labour, Nigerians
The Presidency has pleaded with Nigerians not to mount unnecessary pressure on President Bola Tinubu over the new minimum wage demand. The government assured that Tinubu would transmit the proposed bill to the National Assembly once it is ready. Speaking to Punch, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga wondered what the rush for the transmission of the bill was all about. Onanuga’s position is coming barely 24 hours after the Organised Labour asked the President to consult with them before transmitting the bill to the National Assembly. The Union had complained that the National Executive Committee which will accommodate about 300 Labour leaders, is being stalled by Tinubu’s delay to transmit the wage bill. The President, during his Democracy Day broadcast, disclosed that a consensus had been reached between the Federal Government and Labour on the new wage, a development which the Organised Labour debunked. However, Onanuga, while admitting that he had no idea when the bill would be submitted, called for patience. “People should be patient,” he stated. His appeal comes one week after he reiterated that the ₦250,000 wage being demanded by the workers’ union is unsustainable, warning that the Federal Government cannot channel all its resources to meet such demand.
2027: Northern Politicians Who Visited Buhari Plotting To Unseat Tinubu – Shehu Sani
Shehu Sani, a civil rights activist and social critic, has described the recent meeting of Northern politicians with former President Muhammadu Buhari as a strategic move to unseat President Bola Tinubu in 2027. The ex-president played host to former Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State on Sunday, less than 24 hours after ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar paid a similar visit to him at his residence in Daura, Katsina State. Like Atiku, El-Rufai is not on the same page with the All Progressives Congress (APC) at his home state of Kaduna and at the federal level. Reacting, Sani, who represented Kaduna Central in the 8th National Assembly, described the move as an effort to regroup Northern political forces for the next general election, predicting that it would ultimately fail. In a post via Facebook on Monday, he criticized the attempt to revive Buhari’s political influence and mobilize support, cautioning against stirring Arewa sentiment without regard for the potential chaos it could cause. He wrote: “The recent visits by some prominent Northern politicians to Daura appears to be the Usual Eid homage, but looking deeper and beyond the facade, it’s surreptitiously a new attempt to build a strong northern alliance using ex President Buhari as a rallying point to challenge and evict President Tinubu’s Government in 2027. “It’s a regrouping of Northern political forces for the next general election.A project that will eventually kiss the dust. They want to resurrect Buhari’s political charm, fanaticism and mobilise the gullible to another hollow and bewildering end. They want to stock up and light up the Arewa sentiment without considering the inferno it would eventually generate. “The same Buhari that led Nigeria for eight years and left the North Worst than he met it. It’s too early to forget. By the time he left power, poverty and insecurity was at its peak than at anytime in Nigeria’s history. They had power and wasted it; what do they want to do with it again?. “A Southerner is in power just for one year. It’s too early for the desperate and power hungry northern elite to start plotting. The south never did that to Buhari. Their intended action has the capacity of ruining the democratic process and wrecking the fragile unity of the country when the south is awakened to this reality. “Their obsession with power is condemnable. Opposition to Tinubu from the point of policies, promises and programs of his administration is a democratic right of any Nigerian. People have the right to speak and criticize the Government. “But attempts to whip up Northern sentiments to achieve their political ends is a dangerous political experiment and expedition at this material time. No serious southerner challenged Buhari for eight years;these power drunk Northern politicians are dragging the region to a new political journey through a land mine. “Buhari’s reign ensured nepotistical placement, installation and dominance of Northerners at strategic positions of authority and power for eight years. Results had shown that they only enriched themselves, pillaged the economy of the country and pauperised our country. “The Daura homage of the disgruntled and the obsessed will fail. Our people in the North should reject these faces and their plots. They have nothing to offer. From the abandoned Baro Port, Ajaokuta, Lake Chad basin refiling and Mambilla hydro power, they failed. They came to power when the North was in the hands of terrorists and left it in the joint hands of terrorists and Bandits. The Northern Talakawa should reject their antics.”
BREAKING: Sultan Must Be Guarded Jealously, Shettima Tells Sokoto Govt
Vice-President Kashim Shettima has told the government of Sokoto State that His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, the Sultan of Sokoto, must be guarded jealously. The nation’s number two citizen said this at the ongoing North West Peace & Security Summit, which is being broadcast live on Trust TV. The event is ongoing in Katsina State. “In all developmental issues in this country, His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, I want to use him as a point of reference to recognise and appreciate all our royal fathers present here.” “And to the deputy governor of Sokoto, I have a simple message for you, Yes, the Sultan is the Sultan of Sokoto, but he is much more than that; he represents an idea, he is an Institution, that all of us in this country need to jealously guard, protect, promote, preserve and project for the growth of our nation,” Shettima said. Shettima spoke after the Executive Director of the Muslim Rights Council (MURIC), Prof. Isiaq Akintola raised the alarm that the Sokoto government is allegedly plotting to depose the Sultan. Governor Ahmed Aliyu had earlier deposed 15 traditional rulers for various offences. In his statement, Akintola said Nigerian Muslims would reject any thought of deposing the Sultan. “Feelers in circulation indicate that the governor may descend on the Sultan of Sokoto any moment from now, using any of the flimsy excuses used to dethrone the 15 traditional rulers whom he removed earlier. “MURIC advises the governor to look before he leaps. The Sultan’s stool is not only traditional. It is also religious. In the same vein, his jurisdiction goes beyond Sokoto. It covers the whole of Nigeria. He is the spiritual head of all Nigerian Muslims. “Therefore, any governor who tampers with the stool of the Sultan will have Nigerian Muslims to reckon with because the Sultan combines the office of the Sultan of Sokoto and that of the President General of the NSCIA,” Akintola said.
El-Rufai visits Buhari
Barely 24 hours after the visit of former Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Abubakr Atiku, Malam Nasir El Rufai, the immediate past Governor of Kaduna state has also been spotted at Daura on a visit to former President Muhammadu Buhari. While the visit is fueling speculations about potential political maneuvers ahead of the 2027 general elections in some quarters, some also think that it may have a thing or two to do with the emirate tussle in Kano as el Rufai’s bosom friend, Muhammdu Sanusi II locks horns with his cousin, Aminu Ado Bayero over Emirship of Kano. It will be recalled that Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi was dethroned and banished from Kano by former Kano State Governor Abdulahi Ganduje under circumstances in which many observers speculated had the tacit approval of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2020. Analysts who hold this opinion insist that since those opposed to Sanusi’s reinstatement are the heavy lifters in the current Federal Government and loyalists of former President Buhari, it will make sense for the former governor to appeal to President Buhari for his intervention. There is also the 2027 connection that the reinstatement of Sanusi will augur well for the emergence of a northern president in 2027 if Sanusi is returned as Emir of Kano as opposed to Aminu Bayero who may likely side with Dr. Ganduje and his co-travelers.