News

FEC Condemns Disruption Of Flight Activities, Dares Workers To Proceed On Another

Published

3 years ago

January 25, 2023

Editor

The Federal Executive Council on Wednesday deliberated on the recent strike by aviation workers under the auspices of Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) and condemned the act in totality.

The FEC presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo resolved that the Federal Government would no longer tolerate a situation where flight activities would be grounded on account of grievances by staff.

It noted that there are channels for aggrieved workers to vent their anger if necessary rather than grounding the sector.

Recall that Nigerians woke up to the news of flight disruptions on Monday, following the strike embarked on by NAHCO.

The Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos was the worst hit as most international flights were disrupted.

The NAHCO officials had hinged the strike on the need for their salaries to be shored up.

The strike, however, coincided with the visit by the President, Muhammadu Buhari to Lagos, where he had gone to commission a number of projects.

Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika disclosed the misgivings of other cabinet members while deliberations went on during FEC.

Sirika stated, “For the travelling public, first we want to apologize to our teeming passengers in this difficult moment. Secondly, this will not happen in the future by the grace of God. The reason is simple, aviation is an essential service, the Act has been assented to by Mr. President, so strikes and riots around our airports are prohibited by the laws of the land.

“Now that we have the Act in place and assented by Mr President and passed by the National Assembly. We will deal with it according to the law. We will ensure no essential service is being disrupted by anybody, no matter how aggrieved.

“There are other channels of channelling issues when they arise, but they are not permitted to go on strike because aviation is an essential service and is by the law of the land now.

“I will give you an example, there was an airline that had to return to base because it couldn’t land. Imagine if there was a patient on that aircraft.

“You can imagine a situation where somebody is attending to a very serious matter at hand or a business meeting or possibly a student trying to catch up with an examination and then owing to somebody’s grievances another person will die or suffer unnecessarily.

“We will no longer allow that. So it’s in the law of the land, check the FAAN Act, it’s been assented to and it’s going to take place soon, in fact now, from today we will not allow that.

“Government our ears are always open, the government is open to listening to any grievances and there are procedures for dealing with this kind of grievances. They should desist from this, it is wrong, it is inhuman, it is not allowed, it is not permitted and we will not be permitted any longer”.

As of the time of filing this report, NAHCO officials have suspended their strike for the time being.

News

JUST IN: Court Orders IGP To Arrest Mahmood Yakubu, Ex-INEC Chairman

Published

3 hours ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

Despite his exit as the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, has again ordered the Inspector General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun, to arrest the former INEC chairman, Prof Mahmoud Yakubu, for an offence relating to contempt of court.

The Court order came a few hours after Yakubu left office as the INEC chairman.

The Action Alliance, AA, had instituted a case before the court challenging INEC and its former chairman, Prof Yakubu, over their non-compliance with the judgment of the Court delivered by Justice Funmilola Demi-Ajayi in suit number FHC/OS/CS/194/2024.

In the said judgment, the court ordered INEC to put the names of the National Chairman of the Action Alliance, Adekunle Rufai Omoaje, and other members of the party’s National Executive Committee, NEC, on the INEC portal.

The Court also held that the names of all the state chairmen of the party be uploaded on the INEC portal.

The court held that the elective convention of the party held on the 7th of October, 2023 which produced Omoaje as the national chairman of the party and other NEC members of the party was authentic as it was properly monitored and supervised by officials of INEC in accordance with the party’s constitution and the electoral acts.

However, INEC claimed to have complied with the court judgment, but the party disagreed with the commission, as the name of Omoaje was yet to be uploaded on the commission’s website despite the orders of the Court.

Although the names of the state chairmen of the party under the leadership of Omoaje and those of the NEC members are already on the INEC portal, Omoaje’s name is yet to be uploaded as of press time, a development that the court frowned at.

The court order obtained by our correspondent dated 7th October, 2025, and signed by Mr O.M. Kilani on behalf of the Court Registrar reads in part, “it is hereby ordered that the Inspector General of Police shall cause the arrest and shall charge the defendant/judgment debtors for contempt and committal proceedings within seven days of this ruling.”

The court also awarded a cost of #100,000 against the judgment creditors.

News

Lagos Closes Adeniji Adele–CMS Lane For Six Weeks Of Repairs

Published

4 hours ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

The Lagos State Government has announced a partial closure of the Adeniji Adele Interchange Junction to CMS for six weeks to allow for rehabilitation works by the Federal Government.

According to a statement issued on Wednesday by the Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, the repair works will run daily between 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., starting Sunday, October 12, and ending Sunday, November 23, 2025.

Osiyemi explained that only one lane of the road will be closed during the period, while the remaining lanes will remain open to traffic to minimize disruptions.

He assured motorists that traffic management officers will be stationed along the corridor to ensure smooth vehicular movement and reduce inconvenience during the rehabilitation.

“Motorists are implored to be patient, as the lane diversion is part of the traffic management plan for the rehabilitation of the road by the Federal Ministry of Works,” the commissioner said.

He also urged drivers to comply with the directives of traffic officials on duty to ensure safety and efficient traffic flow throughout the repair period.

News

JUST IN: Tinted Permit Enforcement Placed On Hold Due To Court Order – Police

Published

4 hours ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

The Nigeria Police Force said on Wednesday that the enforcement of the vehicle tinted glass permit has been suspended following a court order halting the exercise.

Spokesperson for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command, SP Josephine Adeh, disclosed this during an interview on Africa Independent Television, AIT.

She said the decision to halt the enforcement came after the police officially received the court order.

Adeh said, “Information reaching me from the office of the PRO is that the order has been received and the enforcement of the tinted permit is now on hold pending the court’s verdict”.

Disclosing that the directive to suspend enforcement would remain in place pending the outcome of the ongoing legal process, Adeh said, “We are waiting for the verdict. We are not against the courts, and we will continue to wait until we get a verdict”.

Speaking on public concerns about the purpose of the tinted glass regulation, Adeh explained that it was introduced for security reasons, noting that some criminal activities had been carried out using vehicles with darkened windows.

“The law was not made by us. We are enforcers. The policy was purely security-driven. Some criminals were using tinted vehicles to commit offences, making it difficult for law enforcement to identify suspects,” she said.

She dismissed claims that the policy was designed for financial gain, noting that all payments related to tinted permits are made directly into the Federal Government’s Treasury Single Account (TSA), not to the police.