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Nigerian labour unions settle for N70k minimum wage, give reasons

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After a lingering row over a national minimum wage between the Nigerian government and organized labour, the unions have decided to settle for N70,000 proposed by the government.

President Tinubu had on Thursday approved the sum of N70,000 as national minimum wage after months of back and forth with labour which included strike actions and several threats of nationwide protests and economic shutdown.

Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who announced the agreement in a post on X, said, the new minimum wage, when approved by the National Assembly, will replace the N30,000 minimum wage, which expired on April 18, 2024

“Breaking: President Bola Tinubu has approved N70,000 minimum wage for Nigerian workers with promise to review the national minimum wage law every three years,” Onanuga wrote.

“President Tinubu also promised to find ways to assist the private sector and the sub-nationals to pay the minimum wage.

“President Tinubu announced the decisions at the meeting held with leaders of TUC and NLC on Thursday in Abuja, the second time the parties met in 7 days.

“The Labour leaders applauded President Tinubu for the fatherly gesture as the President also promised to use his discretionary powers meet the demands of university unions demanding unpaid 4 months salaries.”

The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, who also disclosed the acceptance by labour after the meeting, gave reasons why the organised labour accepted the proposal of N70,000 minimum wage as against their earlier stance of N250,000.

Speaking with State House Correspondents after  the meeting with the President at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Ajaero said the unions agreed to the offer because of other incentives attached.

He stated that a key factor for accepting the offer is because the President promised a review of wages every three years as against what obtained in the past which had a five year review.

Metro

10 persons on FBI wanted list arrested in Nigeria– FG

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The Nigerian government has confirmed that at least 10 persons who were on the wanted list of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and on the watchlist of the Interpol have been arrested while attempting to sneak into Nigeria.

Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who revealed this during the unveiling of the Technology Innovation Complex at the Nigeria Immigration Service headquarters, Abuja on Tuesday by President Bola Tinubu, said the wanted persons were arrested after intense intelligence.

The minister said the newly-installed facility at the centre would ascertain the risk level of persons entering the country, detect irregular migration patterns, and monitor unmanned borders in hard-to-reach areas nationwide.

“In the last couple of days, there were 10 people who were on the interpol and immigration wanted list who were apprehended in one week,” Tunji-Ojo told the President.

“Before now, those people would have entered Nigeria, caused terror. But we have now told them that under the new leadership, Nigeria is a no-go area for any criminal element,” he explained.

Tunji-Ojo further stated that aside from an installed solar power plant of 0.5KWs, 250 trained officers maintain eight-hour shifts to monitor the borders round the clock.

“We decided to do an end-to-end solution. One that has an energy solution to power this facility. The 0.5KW solar power plant is 100 per cent ready here and it has been connected to the facility to power it.

“Also, the human factor is fundamental because you can build a structure, but how about the human element?

“What we’ve been able to do is to train 250 officers. As I speak, we run shifts of eight hours three times a day which is 24/7 surveillance,” he said.

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Zambia: Ex-President Lungu alleges political manipulation after barring from 2026 poll

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Former Zambian President, Edgar Lungu, has described his ban from participating in the 2026 presidential election by the Constitutional Court as political manipulation rather than constitutional principles.

Lungu who reacted to the decision of the court to bar him from future elections, described the verdict as anticipated but reflective of political interference but vowed to focus on a ‘Plan B’ strategy following the Constitutional Court judgment.

Lungu who bared his mind in a statement issued on Tuesday in Lusaka, said the verdict was anticipated but reflective of political interference.

“We find ourselves at a critical juncture in our nation’s history, a moment marked by deep reflection and, I dare say, a profound sense of our common identity and destiny. The verdict rendered today was expected,” Lungu stated.

“For months, the hands of political manipulation have, with undeniable force, steered us toward a conclusion foreseen not by the merits of reasoned argument or constitutional fidelity but by the weight of orchestrated design and political machinations.”

Lungu however, urged Zambians to revisit the sequence of events leading up to the judgment, claiming his exclusion from politics was driven by calculated political interventions.

“It began with a petition that sought to exclude me from the political arena—not through the natural verdict of the people on the ballot paper, but by the calculated intervention of political forces sponsored by political players,” he explained.

The former president also accused unnamed actors of restructuring the judiciary to achieve their objectives.

“Yes, specific judges were expelled in order to retain specific judges specifically for today’s judgment! We saw decisions cloaked in procedural justifications concocted by that same unmistakable hand of expediency.

“Of course, we all witnessed calculated judicial reshuffles by politicians for their plan to land here today.

“Democracy, my fellow citizens, is not merely a system of governance but the lifeblood of our national identity.”

Lungu also announced that a “Plan B” had been initiated and would focus on upholding the power of the people.

“Plan B will prove that no machination can extinguish the power of the Zambian people and that institutions must serve the public, not the ambitions of a few,” he emphasized.

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