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Rivers Workers Hungry, Wike Donates Money Like Father Christmas –NLC
Two years after signing the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has yet to meet the demands of workers and pensioners in his state, the Nigeria Labour Congress has said.
The congress noted that Wike, who is vying to be President in 2023 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Congress, had failed to pay arrears of February and March 2016 salaries due to the aborted biometric verification.
The congress observed that the gale of donations to different causes by the governor had not escaped the attention of hungry workers and pensioners in Rivers State “who watch as their state adorns the robe of Father Christmas to other states while their salaries and pensions are withheld.”
The union stated this in a letter to the governor dated May 5, 2023, titled, ‘RE: Complaint by Rivers State Workers Against the Inhumane Disposition of the Rivers State Government to the Plight of Public Workers and Pensioners in Rivers State.’
The letter signed by the NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, read in part, “Your Excellency, it is regrettable that nearly two years after reaching a Collective Bargaining Agreement with Rivers State workers and pensioners, the state government has reneged on the following commitments: Non-promotion of civil servants eligible for promotion since 2012; non-payment of salaries arrears to civil servants not paid February and March 2016 salaries due to the aborted 2016 biometric verification and non-harmonisation of pension for state retirees; non-payment of pension arrears, gratuities and death benefits to retirees in Rivers, thus exposing them to unimaginable pains and trauma; non-implementation of pension incremental rates; and non-implementation of annual salary increment for state workers.”
The NLC expressed misgivings over River’s continued failure to pay the terminal benefits of retirees for the past seven years “despite the viability of Rivers State, which is at par with Lagos State as Nigeria’s most financially solvent state.”
READ ALSO: 2023: I Was Charged For Murder, Armed Robbery – Wike
The congress added, “Many in Rivers State now believe that the maxim ‘Charity begins at home’ means nothing in Rivers State. We learnt that workers in the state now go about in black mourning robes and the children of retirees now protest naked in the public. Those are all ominous signs.
“Your Excellency, we appeal to the milk of your human kindness and your vows as a revered Life Bencher to respect our labour laws and the agreement you signed with organised labour and implement the resolutions in the Tripartite Committee Report so as to restore industrial peace in Rivers State.”
Copyright PUNCH.
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JUST IN: Ooni Visits Olubadan-designate Ladoja In Ibadan
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, on Sunday, paid a visit to the Olubadan designate, Rashidi Ladoja, at his Bodija private residence in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The PUNCH reports that Oba Ladoja will be installed as the 44th Olubadan on Friday, September 26, 2025, following the demise of the 43rd Olubadan, Oba Owolabi Olakulehin, who joined his ancestors on Monday, July 7, 2025, at the age of 90 years.
READ ALSO:Ladoja Coronation Date As 44th Olubadan Revealed
The two paramount rulers are currently exchanging pleasantries.
Details later…
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JUST IN: FG Revokes 1,263 Mineral Licenses Over Unpaid Fees
The Federal Government through the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development has announced a fresh revocation of not less than 1,263 mineral licenses.
These licenses, which will now be deleted from the Electronic Mining Cadastral System portal of the Nigerian Mining Cadastral Office, include 584 exploration licenses, 65 mining leases, 144 quarry licenses, and 470 small-scale mining leases.
The minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, gave the revocation announcement in a statement issued by his special assistant on Media, Segun Tomori, on Sunday in Abuja.
The minister explained that the directive was issued due to the companies’ failure to comply with the requirement of paying their annual service fees.
The latest revocation brings the total mineral titles revoked under the current administration to 3, 794 including,619 mineral titles revoked for defaulting in paying annual service fees and 912 for dormancy last year.
READ ALSO:FG Introduces Chinese Language Into School Curriculum
By opening up the areas formerly covered by these licenses, the revocation is expected to spur fresh applications by investors looking for fresh opportunities.
The statement read, “Not less than 1,263 mineral licenses will be deleted from the portal of the Electronic Mining Cadastral system of the Nigerian Mining Cadastral Office, MCO, following their revocation by the Federal Government.
“These include 584 exploration licenses, 65 mining leases, 144 quarry licenses, and 470 small-scale mining leases.”
Approving the revocation following the recommendation of the MCO, the Minister said applying the law to keep speculators and unserious investors away from the mining sector would make way for diligent investors and grow the sector.
“The era of obtaining licences and keeping them in drawers for the highest bidder, while financially capable and industrious businessmen are complaining of access to good sites, is over.
READ ALSO:FG Gives Mining Firms Deadline For Community Agreements
“The annual service fee is the minimum evidence that you are interested in mining. You don’t have to wait for us to revoke the license because the law allows you to return the license if you change your mind,” the minister said.
He warned that the revocation does not mean the Federal Government has pardoned the annual service debt owed by licensees, adding that the list will be forwarded to the Economic & Financial Crimes Commission to ensure that debtors pay or face the wrath of the law.
“This is to encourage due diligence and emphasise the consequences of inundating the license application processes with speculative activities.”
In the recommendation to the minister, the Director-General of the MCO, Simon Nkom, disclosed that there were 1,957 initial defaulters when the MCO published the intention to revoke licences in the Federal Government Gazette on June 19, 2025.
He informed the minister that the gazette was distributed to MCO offices nationwide to sensitise licencees and encourage them to comply within 30 days in compliance with the Minerals and Mining Act 2007 and relevant regulations.
READ ALSO:FG Gazettes New Tax Reform Laws
He observed that the delay in the final recommendation was due to complaints of several licensees who claimed to have paid to the Federal Government through Remita and had to be reconciled.
Earlier this month, the DG MCO had hinted that more mining licences would be revoked as part of ongoing efforts to sanitise the solid minerals sector and protect investors from fraudsters.
According to Nkom, the clean-up exercise, which covers expired, speculative, and inactive titles, is necessary to make room for genuine investors and ensure compliance with the law.
This is part of ongoing efforts at sanitising the sector since the inception of the Tinubu administration, and the salutary effects of the reforms are massive and manifest despite the attempts to push back by defaulters and their agents.
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