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Minimum wage: NLC condemns threat by governors to sack workers

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…As UN expends $70m on humanitarian assistance in North-East***

Rising from the dent over its messed up nationwide strike, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC ) on Thursday condemned threat by the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), to sack workers, if the new national minimum wage of N30,000 is implemented.

The workers were however, mostly unamused.

Mr Ayuba Wabba, NLC President, in a statement issued in Abuja, said the threat to sack workers is not new in the struggle for review of  national minimum wage and would therefore not intimidate the workers.

Wabba was reacting to the statement made by the Chairman of NGF, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari, governor of Zamfara,  threatening to sack workers on the account of the new national minimum wage of N30, 000.

He said that the process of negotiation by the tripartite social partners for a new  wage has ended and a new National Minimum Wage of N30,000 agreed upon by government, labour and employers in the private sector.

“Therefore, the current one by the governor of Zamfara cannot be used to intimidate labour.

“The consequences of workers retrenchment are too grievous for any political office holder truly elected by the people to contemplate.

“Few political office holders are bent on enslaving Nigerian workers with peanuts mislabeled as salaries.

“We urge such elected public officials to subject their humongous salaries and allowances, reputed to be among the highest in the world to public perusal.

“Pro rata with the minimum wage they want to force down the throats of Nigerian workers”, he said, urging each of the state governor to go to their respective state and inform workers on their individual position on the new national minimum wage of N30, 000.

The NLC president further urged workers to remain steadfast and firm on their rights to decent wages and improved living conditions.

“To the oppressors, we have only one answer for you, we will never sleep on our rights.

“We hereby reiterate our directive to Nigerian workers to vote out any politician or political party that refuses to pay the new national minimum wage of N30, 000.

“We shall continue to consolidate our efforts to strengthen already existing platforms and structures to give teeth to our resolve to vote out anti-labour governors and politicians in the forthcoming 2019 general election”, Wabba said.

He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to speedily present to the National Assembly the bill on the National Minimum Wage for appropriate amendment and implementation.

“It would interest Nigerians to know that the new national minimum wage of N30,000 was a product of intense and robust negotiations at the National Minimum Wage Tripartite Negotiation Committee that lasted for one year.

“At the National Minimum Wage Tripartite Negotiation Committee, state governments were represented by six states, one state from each of the six geo-political zones.

Meanwhile, the United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (COHA) says it has spent $70 million in providing humanitarian assistance in the north-eastern states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.

The agency also says over seven million people in the region are in need of life-saving assistance due to the Boko Haram insurgency which started in 2009.

Ms Samantha Newport, Head of Communications, COHA, made disclosure on Thursday in Lagos while addressing newsmen on the UN’s humanitarian efforts in the North-East.

Newport said the humanitarian crisis in the North-East Nigeria that had spilled into neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and Niger, and was one of the most severe in the world today.

She said: “More than seven million people are affected in the three worst affected states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.

“1.8 million people are displaced internally. With other global crises competing for scarce resources, the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund (NHF),  a funding mechanism, was set up in May 2017.

“The NHF is managed by COHA under the leadership of the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr Edward Kallon.

“The NHF has raised 70 million dollars to date in contributions and pledges, thanks to the generous support of the following countries: Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Belgium.

“Others are Norway, Ireland, Switzerland, the Republic of Korea, Iceland, Canada, Spain, Luxembourg, the Arab Gulf Programme for Development, Malta, Azerbaijan and Sri Lanka.”

According to her, the funds have been allocated to urgent life-saving needs, with an emphasis this year on assisting new arrivals with food, shelter and safe water.

She said the NHF had continued to assist internally displaced people in crowded camps and host communities where services were stretched with new arrivals and hunger, malnutrition and sickness were rife.

Newport said the NHF had also provided funding to help contain the cholera outbreak in the north-east which was considered to be the worst outbreak in the past 10 years.

She said the UN currently had 3,000 workers and volunteers carrying out the services in the region, adding that no fewer than 2,500 of them were Nigerians.

Newport also said that the UN, in collaboration with the private sector in Nigeria, would on Nov. 15, inaugurate its first NHF Private Sector Initiative (NHF-PSI) to provide more funds for humanitarian assistance in the north-east.

 

 

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NAGAFF Vows to Stop Kwankwaso from Taking Over NNPP

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NNPP inaugurates 2023 Presidential Campaign Council, Aniebonam remains BoT Chairman

…Votes N150m take off professional fees for lawyers to begin litigation warfare!

Members of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) will vehemently resist the taking over of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) by the group noted to be loyal to Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

It would be recalled that the NNPP was originally founded by the National Association of Government-Approved Freight Forwarders NAGAFF, largely to provide a credible platform for maritime industry stakeholders to make a national impact within the nation’s political space.

It. would also be recalled that the former Governor of Kano, Senator Kwankwaso latched on the NNPP, after his effort to run as the flag bearer of another political party was dimmed by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who emerged as the PDP presidential candidate.

NNPP inaugurates 2023 Presidential Campaign Council, Aniebonam remains BoT Chairman

Alhaji Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso

Presently, a statement issued by the NNPP National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Clement Iwegbuna, lamented that what started as a child’s play is becoming a reality with the body language and actions of Senator Kwankwaso to highjack NNPP from the original owners, the members of  NAGAFF.

In a swift move, the president of NAGAFF, leading the pack of resourceful young freight forwarders said the original are poised to match money for money and contact for contact to retrieve NNPP from the people tagged ungrateful.

The statement revealed that the sum of N150,000,000 has been contributed as a take-off professional fee for the lawyers to take on the serial litigations upcoming.

NAGAFF accused Kwankwaso of court abuse with the institution of a court case involving INEC at Kano State High Court. “And so what does it take someone who held the position of minister of defence and member of the national assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to know that it is out of jurisdiction to do so.

NNPP is a national party and INEC is a federal commission. “Let Nigerians be told that there is a new order in Nigeria judiciary at the moment. If Senator Kwankwaso likes let him, Elder Buba Galadima and all of them who are the former members of the National Working Committee led by Alhaji Abbah Kawu who was alleged not to be able to write a statement at the state police command, Abuja when he reported a case against Mr Phillip Oyana the Zonal Secretary North Central of New Nigeria Peoples Party.

“Our young, vibrant and informed lawyers shall meet him and his cohorts in court. Once again we hold no malice against any person. All members of NNPP and NAGAFF are children of God and always ready to show love to all manner of people who may come our way,” the statement further said.

The statement directed and appealed to all members of NAGAFF and NNPP to keep the peace of the society and be law abiding and respectful to the constitution of Nigeria.

“Regret to note that Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso had avoidably prided himself to have brought NNPP to relevance and recognition. Tell the American marine that trash for the fact that Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso forgot to note that NNPP is as old as People’s Democratic Party of Nigeria spanning over 24 years in existence. He joined less than 2yrs ago.

“We consider Senator Kwankwaso as someone who is avoidably arrogant and proud for no good reasons. This is because NNPP provided him the opportunity to contest the Presidency of Nigeria 2023 with great men like the current president of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (PDP) and Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party

“Let it be on record that if NNPP were not winning elections for the period under review it would have been deregistered like the one he facilitated which was called Alliance National Party. As a matter of fact, the current headquarters of NNPP in Abuja is the same office used by the defunct Alliance National  Party whose chairman was one Moshood.

“We also know that the current executive Gov of Kano Alhaji Abbah Kabir who was shortchanged in the previous elections took advantage of us as children of God to be protected and today those evil men could not stop him from becoming the Gov of Kano State.

“Therefore senator RABIU MUSA Kwankwaso should be taught the principles of humility and gratefulness to people who have been nice to him.

“In all of these, he may wish to distance himself from elder Buba Galadima if he wants to make headway in politics. The former President, Gen. Buhari did realise and distanced himself to combine with Asiwaju B. A. Tinubu, the grand master to become the President of Nigeria.,” advised.

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Reps. Summon Minister, Perm.Sec. Over $300m Antimalarial Funds

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Following perceived hanky panky, the House of Representatives Committee on Malaria, HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis has summoned the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof.Mohammed Pate, over alleged misappropriation of 300 million dollars anti-malaria funds.

“The Committee has resolved that the Permanent Secretary be arrested if she failed to honour the summons, having failed to appear three times”, Rep. Amobi Ogah, the Chairman of the Committee who read the resolutions in Abuja on Tuesday, stressed.

Ogah expressed displeasure over the absence of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry at the resumed sitting of the committee on Tuesday.

“Malaria is now an epidemic in Nigeria. The government has always wanted to help the people but most times the civil servants are our problem.

“This money has been made available since 2021. We have been inviting the Permanent Secretary. This is the third time we are inviting her to come and explain to us what has happened.

“Have they used the money? If they have not used the money, where is the money? It is a matter of simple explanation. But they have been running away, calling all manner of people to talk to us,” he said

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We Didn’t Pad Budget -Adaramodu

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…Senate explains alleged N3trn 2024 budget padding

Senate on Tuesday explained that the N3trillion alleged to be padded in the 2024 budget was actually statutory transfers to first-line charge agencies of government not domiciled in the ministries.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Publicity Sen.Yemi Adaramodu gave the explanation while speaking with journalists on the suspension of Sen. Abdul Ningi over alleged padding of the 2024 budget.

Adaramodu said the 10th Senate needed to be treasured as a pillar of democracy and would only do what would promote national interest

He said there was nothing like budget padding, saying that the false narrative on N3trillion padding was a demonstration of the error of arithmetic and innocence of procedure by the protagonists of budget padding.

“The N3 trillion is for statutory transfers of government agencies on the first lines charges.”

He listed the agencies to include Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC)Public Complaints Commission, National Judicial Council, North East Development(NEDC), Commission Niger -Delta Development Commission Commission(NDDC) among others.

$22.7bn: Senate announces new financier of Kaduna-Kano rail modernisation

The Senate

He also dismissed the issue of the provision of N500 million as constituency funds to senators, describing the allegation as a fairy tale.

He urged journalists to study the 2024 budget to investigate allocations to the National Assembly.

He said the issue of budget padding was a negative connotation and a serious crime in budgeting, hence senate didn’t take it lightly.

“It is a matter of integrity, The issue of budget has been put to rest as the protagonist of the budget padding was called to substantiate and they could not prove it but the allegations can not just go without being attended to.

“The Appropriation Act is a public document and when it was done,it was done in the public glare and it was N28.77 trillion and so for some to say N25 trillion was what was approved is scary.

“Statutory transfers for agencies on first line charges, that are not domiciled in the Ministries was what Ningi said was padded, that the allocation can not be traced.”

He reiterated that the N3trillion was not padded, was not missing, but was for agencies of government that were placed on first-line charge.

He also said the allegation that a section of the country was allocated more funds than other regions was not put in the right perspective, saying that allocations were done sectorally.

The Senate image maker said the integrity of the National Assembly was in question, hence the matter was treated with the seriousness it deserved.

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