Author: Vardiafrica

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has faulted the comments credited to governors that states should determine their minimum wage in their domains “This notion is not only dictatorial but also undermines the very essence as well as the model adopted for creating a national minimum wage in Nigeria,” the NLC said in a Friday statement by its Head of Information and Public Affairs Benson Upah. Labour unions, the government, and the private sector have been locked in negotiations over a new minimum wage for months. The tripartite committee on the new minimum wage had proposed N62,000 as a new minimum…

John King, CNN’s chief national correspondent, says the Democratic party is looking to replace President Joe Biden as its presumptive nominee ahead of its national convention in August. Biden sparred with former US President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, on Friday, in a debate hosted by CNN. The incumbent’s speech was at times slurred, throaty, incoherent, he stuttered on occasion, and his ripostes came across as weak. At one point, as the candidates debated on border closure and immigration, a gloating Trump said: “I really don’t understand what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think…

Godswill Akpabio says the Senate will consider a request for a new presidential jet if there is a necessity for that but dismissed claims that the lawmakers are set to approve the purchase of the same at the moment Akpabio, the senate president, said this during plenary in Abuja on Thursday amid claims in some quarters that the Senate is set to approve the purchase of a new jet for President Bola Tinubu. “Irrespective of anticipatory blackmail, because those people know very well that something like that might come in the future. And if it’s a necessity, the Senate will…

President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kassim Shettima on Thursday met with governors of the 36 states of the Federation and ministers to deliberate on a new minimum wage for workers in the country, as well as other economic matters. The President and the governors met at the 141st meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC), which took place in the Council Chamber of the State House in Abuja, the nation’s capital. The Vice President chaired the meeting with state governors, deputy governors and ministers before the arrival of the President. Thursday’s meeting comes about two days after the Federal…

The immediate past governor of Kogi state, Yahaya Bello, has asked the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court Abuja, Justice John Tsoho, to transfer his trial in alleged money laundering to Lokoja. Bello said that he preferred to be arraigned in Lokoja, being the place the alleged money laundering offence was committed. At a resumed hearing on Thursday, Bello represented by his counsel, Adeola Adedipe (SAN), informed Justice Emeka Nwite that a letter requesting for the transfer of the trial had already been delivered to the Chief Judge for his administrative decision. Specifically, Adedipe said the request for Lokoja…

As the controversy on the proposed traditional institution law rages in Sokoto State, the state’s High Court has issued an order restraining Governor Ahmed Aliyu from sacking two of the 15 District Heads his government earlier removed from their seats. The order was sought separately by Buhari Tambuwal and Abubakar Kassim, the District Heads of Tambuwal and Kebbe respectively, who are among the rulers removed by the Sokoto State Government, on the allegation of insurbodination and aiding insecurity in the state. The presiding judge, Justice Kabiru Ahmed, ordered the governor, hisAttorney General and the Sokoto Sultanate Council to revert to…

The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, has authorised the promotion of Second Lieutenant Princess Oluchukwu Owowo to the substantive rank of Lieutenant (Lt) in the Nigerian Army. This was disclosed by the Nigerian Defence Academy in a statement on X on Wednesday. “Speaking during the decoration ceremony which took place today 26 June, 2024 at the Nigerian Defence Academy Officer’s Mess and Golf Club, the NDA Commandant Major General JO Ochai, extolled the track record of excellence of Lt Owowoh as a cadet which accorded her the rare privilege of becoming the first female Nigerian to be…

The National Assembly comprising the House of Representatives and the Senate has passed a Bill for an Act to Amend the Appropriation Act 2023, to further extend the implementation of the Capital aspect of the Appropriation Act, 2023 from 30 June 2024 to 31 December. It also passed a Bill for an Act to Amend the Supplementary Appropriation Act, 2023 to further extend its implementation from 30 June 2024 to 31 December 2024. The bill scaled the first reading on Thursday. The leader of the senate, Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele and sponsor of the executive bill, then proceeded to lead the…

The 17 Governors from the Southern part of Nigeria under the aegis of the Southern Governors’ Forum have advocated that each state be allowed to negotiate a new minimum wage they can pay with the labour unions. This was contained in a communique issued at the end of their meeting held in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. “The Forum discussed the minimum wage issues demanded by labour and unanimously agreed that the minimum wage should be reflective of the cost of living and ability to pay, and each State be allowed to negotiate their minimum wage,” the communique partly read.…

Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy of Nigeria, Bosun Tijani, says investigation has commenced into the alleged breach of data of Nigerians domiciled at the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC). In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, the minister said the NIMC and National Data Protection Commission (NDPC) have commenced a probe into the matter. Paradigm Initiative, a pan-African social enterprise, had on Thursday raised an alarm over its discovery of the sale of National Identification Numbers (NINs), Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs), and other personal data of Nigerians on a website for as low as N100. The…