Politics

Nigeria: Labour union adamant as govt pleads over planned industrial action

Published

1 year ago

July 27, 2023

The Nigerian government has pleaded with organized labour to hold on with its planned industrial action following the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol.

Tajudeen Abbas, Speaker of the House of Representatives, the second chamber of the Nigerian legislature, made the appeal on Wednesday after leading a few legislators to brief the President on the outcome of their negotiations with the National Association of Resident Doctors, which was also embarking on a nationwide strike.

Labour delegations led by Joe Ajaero, the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress, and Festus Osifo, the president of the Trade Union Congress, were also present at a meeting on Wednesday, which was held at the President’s chief of staff’s office.

The meeting was a continuation of the June 19 meeting regarding the initial increase of the gasoline pump price to N520 per litre following the president’s controversial announcement that “subsidy is gone” during his inaugural speech on May 29.

The Nigeria Labour Congress on Monday gave the government a seven-day ultimatum to reverse all perceived anti-poor policies or face an indefinite nationwide strike from August 2.

Asked what the House was doing to restrain the Nigeria Labour Congress from proceeding with the August 2 protests, Abbas said, “In the same manner, the same way, we will also invite them to come and sit so that we hear their grievances and then we follow the same pattern of engaging and persuading them to give us a little time so that we can be able to meet their expectations.”

The revelation might be an indication that the government might invoke the ruling it got last month when the NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) were stopped from going on strike in any capacity after the government sought a court order prohibiting them.

In spite of the meeting, Ajaero reiterated that “We are going ahead with the demonstration because we have to be emphatic on what we said in our statement, to say we are launching protests on August 2.”

Related Topics:Featured Fuel subsidy Nigeria

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Politics

Mali: 7 Russian mercenaries killed

Published

15 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

An al Qaeda offshoot in North Africa has claimed responsibility for the attack in central Mali, killing at least seven mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner private military contractor company.

Wagner earlier lost a battle in July with mostly Tuareg rebels and Islamists close to Mali’s Algerian border, exposing the perils faced by mercenaries used by military juntas in the Sahel area of West Africa.

The separatists and strong branches of Al Qaeda and Islamic State, which have taken over large areas of the Sahel over the past 12 years, are difficult for Mali and its neighbours Burkina Faso and Niger to control.

The al Qaeda offshoot JNIM claimed responsibility for the Thursday attack, according to a statement from SITE Intelligence Group, which keeps an eye on extremist activity in the area. According to SITE, JNIM captured several weapons and killed seven Russian Wagner mercenaries.

Following an attack, the bodies of at least five white males wearing army fatigues were seen laying near a military truck in a video obtained by Reuters. The validity of the footage could not be confirmed by Reuters.

SITE Intelligence posted images allegedly from JNIM that showed many crates of weapons and ammo together with the dead and bloodied bodies of troops.

Although two local officials acknowledged the incident, a Malian army source claimed to have seen seven dead bodies, including Russian fighters. Five Wagner warriors were slain, according to one of them.

At least six Russians have been murdered in the attack, which was carried out by Katiba Macina, a division of JNIM, according to a consultant working on security in the area.

The expert referred to the Russians as Africa Corps warriors, a paramilitary group under Kremlin leadership that has taken Wagner’s position in Africa throughout the previous 12 months.

Mali has previously said that Russian servicemen trainers are assisting local troops with Russian-purchased weaponry rather than mercenaries.

Politics

Mauritius’ Prime Minister to double as Finance Minister

Published

2 days ago

November 23, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In an effort to maintain a tight eye on the economy, Mauritius’ Prime Minister, Navin Ramgoolam, who took office this month following a resounding election victory, said on Friday that he would retain the position of finance minister for himself.

“We are doing an audit of the economy to see to what extent the outgoing government has destroyed it,” Ramgoolam told reporters in the capital Port Louis after he presided over the swearing-in of other ministers.

Ten years after he stepped down as prime minister, the seasoned politician returned to the position when his Alliance du Changement (ADC) alliance won 60 of the 62 seats in the national legislature.

The 77-year-old Ramgoolam said earlier this week that he would be auditing governmental finances. Before this, he was prime minister from 1995 to 2000 and again from 2005 to 2014.

Ramgoolam started a campaign in 2006 to streamline taxes and reduce bureaucracy to diversify the $10 billion economy beyond exports of sugar, textiles, and tourism.

Since then, the 1.3 million-person nation, which positions itself as a bridge between Africa and Asia, has developed into a major offshore financial hub and has been rated by the World Bank as the easiest location to do business in Africa regularly.