News

Minimum Wage: Tinubu’s Meeting With Labour Ends In Deadlock

Published

1 year ago

July 11, 2024

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s meeting with organized Labour on Thursday, July 11, concluded without any new developments regarding the national minimum wage.

Previously, the government and the organized private sector had agreed on a N62,000 wage, while organized Labour insisted on a minimum of N250,000.

A new meeting between President Tinubu and organized Labour is scheduled for next week to continue discussions on the national minimum wage.

Labour representatives indicated that the one-week break will allow them to reflect on the issues raised during Thursday’s discussions.

Speaking to reporters at the end of the meeting, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha; President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, and his Trade Union Congress (TUC) counterpart, Festus Usifoh, affirmed that the meeting did not discuss anything in terms of naira and kobo.

The minister noted that President Tinubu only had a discussion with the leadership of organized labour as a father to children but expressed the hope that a solution will soon be found to the minimum wage issue.

“It was a meeting between father and children and… I think we are hopeful that very soon everything will be resolved. When father and children talk, you know what it is. That’s just exactly what has happened and it took us almost like an hour, and I believe that it’s all for good”, she said.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, President of the NLC, Comrade Ajaero said that there was nothing like negotiation at the meeting but rather a discussion on the current economic realities in the country.

According to him, “In a real sense, it wasn’t a negotiation but a discussion and we have had that discussion. We agreed to look at the real terms probably and reconvene in the next one week.

“So that’s where we are because we didn’t go down there to talk naira and kobo. At least there were some basic issues that we agreed on”, he said.

Asked whether the organized labour insisted on the N250,000 demand at the meeting, the NLC President said: “I remember mentioning that we didn’t go into Naria and Kobo discussion. Now the status quo in terms of the amount N250,000 and N62,000 remains until we finish this conversation.”

Also speaking, the President of TUC, Osifo, said that the organized Labour put all the economic indices on the table and how it was biting on Nigerians.

“In the meeting, we tried to put the issues on the table. Issues that are bordering and biting Nigerians today, are the economic difficulties and the value of naira, how it has also eroded, and how these have affected the prices of commodities and goods in the market.

“So, we tried to put these before Mr President because he is the President of the country and the bulk stops at his table.

“We have had all the conversations with all his agents, but today (Thursday) we said let us meet with the father of the country and have this conversation and make the argument that Labour always makes.

“We made all the arguments, the economic analysis, macro, micro, fiscal and monetary issues. So, we put everything forward and at the end, the President made his remark as the President and we all agreed let’s go back to internalize it, have some conversations and by one week time, we will come back and we will continue the meeting”, he said.

Speaking in an interview, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, expressed optimism that there would be a positive result after next week’s meeting.

“Recall that already there is 62,000 naira that has been put out there from the government side and the organized private sector but the organized labour is still not accepting that but we know that they will come to the table, we know that this is something that is going to be workable for Nigerians.

“The organized labour and the government will reach an agreement. We have adjourned now for a week. The labour union has asked the government to allow them At least a week to discuss this further and we have allowed them. We’re going to reconvene in the next one week and we hope and we believe by the end of the day, we’ll have something good for all Nigerians.

“We do hope that by the time we come together again next week, we’ll have something that we can put out for Nigerians to see and to agree with.”

However, a source privy to the meeting said that the President urged the organized labour to consider the N62,000 offer the federal government and the organized private sector made.

According to the source, President Tinubu narrated what led to the subsidy removal and how Nigeria was feeding her neighbours and was suffering.

The source said: “President Tinubu suggested that instead of waiting for five years to review the minimum wage, we can continue to dialogue and see the possibility of reviewing it every two years.

“He also said that the Organized Labour should consider the N62,000 offer because it is double of the N30,000 we were paying.”

The source who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that when the NLC President reminded Tinubu that it would amount to wage reduction if the organized labour accepts N62,000 as the least paid worker currently goes home with N72,000 (including wage award and 40% increase), he (President Tinubu) was just laughing.

News

Sanwo-Olu makes U-turn, Unblocks Lawyer Who Sued Him Over Blocking On X

Published

17 minutes ago

September 13, 2025

Editor

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has unblocked human rights lawyer, Festus Ogun, on X after a meeting with him at Lagos House, Marina, on Friday.

The lawyer, who had accused the governor of rights violations, announced the development in a post on his X account on Saturday.

According to him, Sanwo-Olu personally invited him for a brief meeting to address his complaints.

“Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has unblocked me on X (Twitter). I met briefly with him yesterday at Lagos House Marina, on his invitation, to amicably resolve my complaint of human rights violations. We will continue to hold authorities accountable, regardless. Aluta continua!” Ogun wrote.

Tribune Online reports that Ogun had earlier filed a suit against Sanwo-Olu at a Federal High Court in Lagos, accusing him of violating his fundamental rights by blocking him on his verified X account.

In the suit marked FHC/L/CS/1739/25, which he shared on Facebook, the lawyer claimed the governor blocked him over his 2021 “constructive criticisms” and “demand for accountability” on the October 2020 #EndSARS killings.

“In 2021, I noticed that the Governor blocked me on his official X handle @jidesanwoolu owing to my constructive criticisms of his policies and demand for accountability in respect of the October 2020 #EndSARS Massacre.”

Ogun said the action has prevented him from accessing vital government updates and information.

“Blocking me on X has prevented me from accessing public updates and receiving information about policies and governance in Lagos, which constitutes a violation of my right to receive information without interference,” he said.

In his originating summons, he asked the court to declare the move unconstitutional, arbitrary, and discriminatory.

News

Tragedy Deepens As Prime Suspect in Taraba Student’s Death Found Dead

Published

41 minutes ago

September 13, 2025

Editor

The investigation into the death of Comfort Jimtop, a 100-level Mass Communication student at Taraba State University, has taken a dramatic turn following the discovery of the lifeless body of Emmanuel Kefas, the prime suspect in the case.

Kefas’s body was discovered on Friday in the Tudiri community, Ardo-Kola Local Government Area, under unclear circumstances, intensifying public concern and adding a tragic dimension to a case that has already gripped the university community and residents across Taraba State.

Confirming the development on Saturday, the spokesperson for the Taraba State Police Command, James Lashen, said the police received a report from the village head of Tudiri about the discovery.

“A lifeless body was found in Tudiri, and a Tecno Android phone was recovered beside it,” Lashen stated.

“Upon charging the phone, investigators found a photograph showing the deceased with the late Comfort Jimtop, suggesting they were in a romantic relationship.”

Lashen added that the body has been taken to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Jalingo for autopsy. At the same time, efforts are ongoing to officially identify the remains through the suspect’s family.

Police have yet to determine whether Kefas’s death was the result of suicide, homicide, or an accident. Investigations into both deaths are continuing.

Comfort Jimtop’s mysterious death had earlier sparked outrage on campus and across the state, with students and rights groups demanding justice. Kefas was named a prime suspect in the case, which remains open.

This latest development has left many unanswered questions and deepened the grief surrounding the case.

Students, residents, and civil society groups are closely monitoring the situation, calling on authorities to ensure a thorough investigation and bring clarity to the tragic chain of events.

News

Ossiomo, Chinese Impasse: This Is Our Story — Management

Published

3 hours ago

September 13, 2025

Editor

The management of Ossiomo Power Plant has cleared the air on the dispute between its Chinese partners and the circumstances surrounding the shutting down of the power plant early this month.

Representative of Ossiomo management, Engineer Festus Evbuomwan, during an interactive session with customers on the impasse between the two partners, said contrary to the rumour making the rounds, the management of Ossiomo Power Plant had paid over ₦2bn to its Chinese partner — Jiangsu Communication Clean Energy Technology (CCETC) — since the power plant started operation.

Recall that representative of CCETC who identified himself as Mr. ‘W’ had, during a telephone phone interview two weeks ago, claimed that “instruction to shutdown was because we lost lots of money and did not get any return on investment,” adding that “all the $20m investment was done by us including the distribution lines.”

But Evbuomwan during the interactive session, said the management was not aware of the $20m investment the Chinese partner claimed, just as he disclosed that “when they generate power, we sell and pay them.”

He disclosed that after shutting down the power plant, the Chinese partners came up with a request of ₦185m to be paid to two Chinese not known to the management, stressing that this was declined.

According to him, the Chinese partner, having seen how lucrative the business is, “went to some quarters and raised some issues probably thinking they can manoeuvre us with the help of some big persons, so that they can use their machines to generate power and sideline us but this is not possible.”

“The Chinese partners also claimed that they borrowed $20m from their native land to invest, we are not aware of such investment, and we do not know where the money was invested up till now.

“They have been also saying they have not been receiving anything, but I want to tell you unequivocally that first, the partners run a joint account where their investment is going into. More so, The Chinese partners have received over ₦2bn so far for the power they generate with their machines. When they generate the power, we sell and pay them.”

Engr. Evbuomwan, while apologising to customers for the power outage caused by the dispute between the two partners, said Ossiomo had started power generation though not in full capacity, assuring that power generation would be fully restored soon.

“We have purchased turbines, and one have started working. They are working on the second one, so, by the time our five turbines start working we will be in full capacity. Even with that, those connected to the government may not be reached immediately. This is because the government bought the poles and contracted the wiring, and we cannot force the government to do our bid. Also, we are making efforts to site 33kva transformer along Airport Road and Lagos Road as soon as possible, so that our customers there will get power.”

He said the Edo State government does not have a stake in the company, just as he appealed to the “government to let us supply power to customers in through their Lines. I want to emphasise that Ossiomo is not completely shut down.”

He further urged the “government to encourage the Nigerian citizens to invest and not to work against local investors.”