Organised Labour has justified its proposed N615,000 minimum wage demand.

The request is based on a conservative analysis of what an average Nigerian family needs to survive.

Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Joe Ajaero stated this yesterday during his visit to the headquarters of The Nation in Lagos.

He was accompanied by some national officers and officials of the Lagos State council of the union.

Some of these are the National President, Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Ambali Akeem Olatunji; NLC Lagos State Chairman Funmi Sessi and NLC National Trustee, Akporeha Williams.

The delegation was received by senior editorial figures led by Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief Victor Ifijeh.

Ajaero, a former Labour reporter, who is one year old in office, described the visit as “home-coming”.

He said he would have visited media houses before now but for the pressure of office.

Although Labour was not opposed to a negotiated wage for workers, Ajaero said the prevailing economic realities informed its decision to put forward for negotiation the proposed N615,000 wage demand to the Federal Government’s Tripartite Committee on Minimum Wage.

Labour made public the amount on May Day, saying it had tabled it before the Tripartite Committee, whose meetings are ongoing to reach an agreement on the minimum wage.

Ajaero said there were misconceptions about the proposal, but the NLC was left with no other choice than to arrive at the figure based on prevailing economic indices and realities to make life better for Nigerian workers.

“We presented N615,000 as minimum wage to the Federal Government. But if you ask us to present again today, it is going to increase because when we were presenting that figure, things like electricity tariff had not increased. And there was no cybersecurity levy,” he said, asking: “Where are we going to get money to pay for these?”

Ajaero said this was why the NLC gave the Federal Government, through the Tripartite Committee, a proviso that “If the indices remain the way they are, this N615,000 demand stands, but if they come down as we are negotiating, we will look at it.”

Explaining how NLC arrived at the N615,000 minimum wage, Ajaero said: “We looked at accommodation, food, medicals, education, and other utilities. We didn’t make provisions for communication, offerings, tithes and the like. Those are some of the things we took into cognisance before we arrived at N615,000.”

On accommodation, for instance, Ajaero said the NLC pegged it at N40,000 for a room and parlour apartment for a family of husband and wife and four children.

“This means that if you have a grandmother or mother-in-law, you are on your own because we did not calculate those,” he said.

NLC calculated feeding based on N500 per person per meal for a family of six.

“So, N500 per person is N1,500 per person in a day. For six tables in a month, we are going to have N270,000 for feeding,” he said, adding that N50,000 is for education and medicals each, assuming a worker does not go for surgery or send his or her children to private school, for instance.

For utilities like electricity bills and gas, Ajaero said while N20,000 was allocated to the former, even before the tariff increased, about N16,000 or N17,000 was for gas, which does not last for more than two weeks.

This, he said, means that in a month, some families buy gas at least twice, spending between N30,000 and N35,000.

“Based on our calculation, a worker is not supposed to own a car, not even a motorcycle, because he or she can’t fill a car tank with N30,000; he can’t service a vehicle,” Ajaero said.

He noted that these are some of the things the NLC took into consideration before coming up with N615,000.

“We have placed it (N615,000) wage demand before the government for negotiation because when there is an offer there is usually a counter-offer to say no, this one you are asking is out of it,” the labour leader said.

He pointed out that while inflation remained high, wages have also remained constant and all other costs are going up, whether it’s housing, transportation or school fees.

“So, should wage remain constant and still take care of other variables?” Ajaero asked.

“If all these factors are checked, we will be arriving at another figure.”

The NLC boss also said the removal of petrol subsidy pushed up prices of goods and services across the country.

He said if the fuel subsidy was not removed, “probably we would have suggested N80,000 minimum wage.”

Asked about state governments not even paying the current N30,000 wage, and whether the Federal Government can afford the proposed N615,000, Ajaero was emphatic.

“States can pay if they get their priorities right,” he said, noting that it’s only a few state governments that are not paying the N30,000.

He said: “I think a few state governments are not paying; just very few or some are paying in breaches.

“But on the issue of whether the states can pay, yes, they can if they get their priorities right.

“In fact, National Assembly’s wages have almost tripled. If you come to an economy and we are having this argument of affordability, everybody must be disciplined.”

Besides, he argued that the issue of minimum wage is a benchmark and a product of legislation such that if left open, some states will not even pay N10,000.

“If this N30,000 was not a product of legislation, the state governments that have been kicking that minimum wage be sent into the concurrent list so that they can decide whether to pay N5,000 or not would have succeeded,” he said.

Ajaero, however, said all over the world, it is called minimum.

In other words, states are supposed to pay beyond the minimum.

“If you check states like Edo, while some are paying N30,000, they are paying N40,000; some others are paying N35,000. Most states are paying more than N30,000,” he said.

He also pointed out that when this same complaint about the payment of 30,000 came up during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s era and he released money from the Sovereign Wealth Fund for state governors to pay salaries, they did not use it for the purpose but diverted it.

On the ongoing negotiations at the Tripartite Committee, made up of Federal/state government officials, labour unions and the organised private sector, Ajaero said the labour centres were asked to harmonise their positions, which he said had been done.

He said another meeting of the committee had been fixed for May 15. It will be held via Zoom.

He expressed reservations about using Zoom for such a serious negotiation, saying many factors could make it inappropriate.

He also said if the Federal Government makes good its promise to provide Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses, which, according to him, is not rocket science as it only requires a conversion kit to switch over to PMS, transportation costs will significantly reduce.

“If we had achieved that, you don’t need to tell anybody and you will see that transportation will just crash. Transportation is central to our demand.

“If CNG buses are put in place, we won’t be talking about this. We are looking at it holistically. If all this is done, Nigerians will live happily,” Ajaero said.

FBN Holdings Plc, has announced the exit of Mr Tunde Hassan-Odukale as Chairman of its subsidiary, First Bank of Nigeria Ltd., following the completion of his tenure.

The Board of First Bank appointed Mr Ebenezer Olufowose, a Non-Executive Director, as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank.

Company Secretary, FBN Holdings, Adewale Arogundade, said this in a notification sent to the Nigerian Exchange Ltd.(NGX) on Thursday in Lagos.

Arogundade explained that Hassan-Odukale completed the cumulative number of years, which is 12 years for a Non-Executive Director, in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBNs) corporate governance guidelines.

He said Olufowose was appointed to the Board of Directors of First Bank on April 29, 2021.

Olufowose is the Group Managing Director of First Ally Capital Ltd., an investment banking firm based in Lagos.

With over 35 years of working in the financial services industry, Olufowose brings skills from corporate finance, project finance and investment banking to the board.

Before joining the First Bank Board, he was Executive Director at Access Bank Plc and Citibank Nigeria, where he led Citigroup’s origination, structuring and execution of corporate finance and investment banking transactions in Nigeria.

He started his banking career in 1985 at NAL Merchant Bank Plc (NAL), working in the Corporate Planning and Finance Departments.

A first-dass honours degree holder in Economics from the University of Lagos, Olufowose holds an MA in International Economics from the University of Sussex, England.

He has attended several management and leadership training programmes at leading institutions, including the Institute of Management Development, Switzerland, Harvard Business School, Boston, U.S., and INSEAD Singapore.

He is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School and the Lagos Business School and an Honourary Senior member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.

Olufowose is also a Fellow of the Institute of Credit Administration and a Fellow of the Association of Investment Advisers and Portfolio Managers.

(NAN)

THE journalist is needed everywhere, but is endangered everywhere. Hence humanity declared May 3 as World Press Freedom Day to highlight the importance of the profession and the need for freedom of the press in the context of current global affairs.

Tragically, the day has become like a body count of journalists killed, those of them incarcerated and, in some places, the near impossibility of practising the profession. In 2023, at least 71 journalists were killed. This year promises to be far higher unless the Israeli-Palestinian War is quickly brought to an end. Already, that seven-month conflict has claimed 97 journalists with 92 of them Palestinian, two Israeli and three Lebanese.

Those figures make Palestine the deadliest place to practice journalism. Even before the on-going conflict, it was dangerous to practise the profession in Palestine, as Israel had deliberately murdered journalists in that country. One of the most brazen was the May 11, 2022 murder of Al Jazeera journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh. She was picked out by an Israeli sniper while standing with her professional colleagues, all wearing vests with ‘Press’ emblazoned on them. The United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry concluded that her murder was deliberate.

As the world marked the Press Freedom Day, a week ago, Nigerian journalist, Daniel Ojukwu, of the Freedom for Investigative Journalism, FIJ, was spending his third day in detention after being abducted by Special Forces sent by the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun. Since nobody, except his abductors, knew his whereabouts, he was presumed missing or possibly dead before, luckily, he was found in a Lagos police cell. As I write, Ojukwu remains in captivity.

He might be luckier than Segun Olatunji, Editor of FirstNews who was abducted by armed soldiers on March 15, 2024 at home in the presence of his young family, and practically vanished. Even the serving Nigeria Army Generals who directed his abduction, personally claimed they knew nothing about his whereabouts. He was lucky to have been positively located in a military dungeon in Abuja by his colleagues. At that point, the cornered Generals set him free after 13 days in captivity.

In a sense, Nigerian journalists are luckier than those in Palestine; at least they are not being shot. But those in the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, SADR, better known Western Sahara, are operating in almost impossible circumstances. At least in Palestine, Israel, even if it cannot tolerate them, recognises Palestinian journalists and, is conscious that it is an occupying force. In contrast, the Moroccan monarchy does not even recognise Western Sahara as a separate territory, does not see itself as an occupying force, and of course, does not recognise Saharawi journalists as professionals with a duty to report.

Where, during protests, Israel pretends to spare the Palestinian journalist, Morocco sees Saharawi journalists as part of the subversive forces that are fit only for prison. As an occupying force, Israel attacks Palestinians and imprisons, but does not expel them. In Morocco’s case, it claims the Saharawi are its citizens, but can expel them from their country. In one of the most infamous cases, when on November 13, 2009, the President of the Collective of Saharawi Human Rights Defenders, CODESA, Aminatou Haidar, returned home from a trip to Nigeria where I was one of the labour leaders that received her, she was denied re-entry. The Moroccan government detained her overnight at the airport, seized her passport and national identity card and expelled her as a stateless person to the Spanish Canary Islands.

So, to practise journalism in a country you can easily be declared a terrorist or non-citizen, requires the journalist operating like a guerrilla fighter. To worsen matters, the Saharawi journalist by virtue of his nationality has to work in three territories: in parts occupied by Morocco, in the liberated territories and the Refugee Camps in Tindouf, Algeria.

In marking the 2024 World Press Freedom Day, journalists from various continents gathered in the Refugee Camps in practical solidarity with Saharawi journalists and people. This first international media solidarity conference was titled: “A journalistic perspective of the issue of Western Sahara and its Developments”.

In striving to remove the prevailing international media veil over the bloody and vicious attempts by the Moroccan monarchy to recolonise Western Sahara, a member of the African Union, the international journalists, examined “Current Issues and Double Standards” in reporting the situation. They dedicated themselves to documenting the truth about the country and “ conveying the voice and stories of the Sahrawi people to the world”.

The journalists also announced that they would be: “Defending Sahrawi media professionals in the occupied territories of Western Sahara by exposing Moroccan violations that target them, highlighting the risks to which they are exposed under occupation, and contributing to the defence of their freedom and safety.”

In examining the state of journalism in today’s crisis-ridden world, the journalists concluded that the old ways of reportage is no longer adequate as the situation threatens not just the professional standards of journalism, but also, human values.

In noting the widening areas of conflict in an increasingly explosive, complex, divergent, yet intertwined world, they regretted that: “Instead of reporting and addressing events objectively, the media has become a massive propaganda machine, posing a threat to peace, stability, and security.” They warned that: “Any failure of the free press today to fulfil its pivotal role, leaves the field wide open, especially given the opportunities presented by modern communication technologies and their effects.”

Linking these to the Western Sahara situation, the visiting journalists revealed that “concealing and biasing the truth has become a consequence of colonial policies and their various forms characterised by racial, cultural, and even geographical discrimination, among others.”

They declared that the forms of occupation anywhere in the universe are essentially the same and that declaring legitimate resistance as terrorism, is no solution to such occupation.

They added that for there to be peace, it has become an urgent necessity for the conscientious across the globe to unite in protecting basic rights and principles of justice.

The media practitioners advocated for journalism with social relevance; one that would convey the concerns, hopes, and future of oppressed peoples in all “corners of the world from Western Sahara to Palestine.”

In a declaration called: ‘The appeal of Bir Lahlu’, named after the liberated Sahrawi territory, the international journalists called for a unification of the efforts of “ free advocacy for a better, possible world, with its free media serving the freedom and dignity of humanity.”

The future of journalism, and I dare say of the world, may depend on humanity, adopting and implementing declarations like the one emanating from Western Sahara.

A federal high court in Abuja has dismissed a suit seeking to restrain the federal government from securitising the N22.7 trillion Ways and Means loan received from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Securitisation is the practice of pooling together various debt instruments and selling them as bonds to investors.

In a judgment delivered on Thursday, James Omotosho, the presiding judge, held that the plaintiffs lacked locus standi (legal right) to institute the case, noting that they failed to prove the case.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1286/2023, was filed by Justin Edim and Akinfewa Akinwunmi against President Bola Tinubu, the federal government of Nigeria, CBN, and the ministry of finance as first to fourth defendants.

Others in the suit are the debt management office (DMO), national assembly, and attorney-general of the federation (AGF) as fifth to seventh defendants, respectively.

The plaintiffs, through their counsel, Victor Opatola, claimed they initiated the legal action on behalf of themselves and other Nigerian citizens.

They asked the court to stop the conversion of the debt to a promissory note or any other promise to pay at a future date or securitisation through the issuance of treasury bills, bonds, or other forms of security.

In December 2022, the federal government requested the 9th national assembly for permission to securitise the debts it incurred from the CBN over the years.

The plaintiffs claimed that the series of loans secured by the government from the CBN had amounted to N23.7 trillion.

They added that the federal government was planning to restructure the loans to something that could be traded.

They further stated that the federal government had over the years secured various loans from the CBN under the Ways and Means provision of section 38 of the CBN Act in contravention of relevant laws.

They argued that the laws stipulate that the total amount the government could borrow shall not exceed five percent of the previous year’s revenue.

Recently, according to the plaintiffs, the Ways and Means debt of N22.7 trillion was decided to be converted into bonds (promissory note) contrary to section 38(3)(b) of the CBN Act.

The plaintiffs wanted the court to declare that the effect of securitising the ways and means debt would adversely affect millions of Nigerians, as well as rob them of the true worth of their savings and further drive Nigerians below the poverty line.

Delivering the judgment, Omotosho struck out the name of the national assembly from the suit, noting that the plaintiffs had breached the condition precedence of filing a pre-action notice on the legislature three months before filing the case.

The judge said though the plaintiffs claimed they filed the matter on behalf of the masses, the instant case was not a fundamental enforcement rights suit.

He said the claim that the suit was brought on behalf of the public was incomprehensible.

The judge added that the plaintiffs failed to show how the actions of the defendants affected them personally.

[TheCable]

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Engr. Chukwuemeka Woke as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority.

Engr. Woke is a seasoned engineer and politician. He had served as Chairman of Emohua local government area of Rivers State and was Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt, for many years.

The President expects the new Chief Executive Officer of the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority to discharge his duties with integrity and in conformity with the highest standards of transparency, while working at harnessing and developing the water resource potential of the area, as well as ensuring that the Authority is a channel for holistic and integrated industrial, agricultural, and community development.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

TikTok has permanently banned the account of a Nigerian user, Young C, following his controversial 24-hour challenge in which he was buried alive. The stunt, which drew significant attention and concern, led to the removal of his profile from the short video platform.

Naija News reports that Young C’s daring act involved being enclosed in a coffin for an entire day, a feat he undertook on Wednesday and broadcast live to his followers.

The stunt, intended as a challenge, echoes a similar endeavour by American YouTuber MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson), who famously spent 50 hours buried alive to highlight environmental issues.

MrBeast recently aimed to break his own record by enduring seven days in a coffin, a test of both physical and mental fortitude.

Cheks on TikTok confirmed that Young C’s account is no longer accessible, indicating a permanent ban.

The platform, which has policies against content that could promote harmful or dangerous activities, likely found the nature of Young C’s challenge in violation of these guidelines.

The incident raises questions about the boundaries of content creation and social media platforms’ responsibilities to curb activities that could endanger lives or encourage risky behaviours among viewers.

While creators often push limits to gain views and engagement, the implications of promoting such extreme challenges are a growing concern for both content platforms and regulators.

[NaijaNews]

Experts and stakeholders in the blockchain industry have blamed the ongoing events around crypto trading in Nigeria on the policies and actions of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which tends to distance the regulator from the market.

According to them, the stance of the banking regulator could create a Pandora’s box of challenges that could open doors for bad actors.

They claim the ban may now allow those bad actors who were involved in currency manipulation through crypto trading to even inflict more damage on the economy.

The activities of the bad actors is believed to be denting the image of several legitimate players in the industry.

This comes as concerns mount over plans by the government to ban peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto trading in the country. Although some experts believe that banning P2P may not be feasible as people can exchange money under any guise, players in the industry are concerned that an outright ban would affect several platforms built to facilitate legitimate transactions.

Speaking on the current developments in the industry, the Co-founder of Convexity, a blockchain solutions company, Adedeji Owonibi, said the CBN under the former Governor, Godwin Emefiele, created the P2P market when he shut out banks from crypto transactions.

“The former CBN Governor sent everybody away to P2P because people could use the banking rates. P2P is a creation of the central bank and directly so because as a matter of fact if they had not stopped it, people would have been trading within different cryptocurrency exchanges that are interacting with the banking system. This opened the doors for all kinds of people in the P2P market.

“Now, we have a lot of bad actors that are giving everybody a bad name. The industry players operating legitimately will need to expose the bad actors and let the government know them,” Owonibi said.

Failure to regulate

Owonibi’s thoughts aligned with that of the President of Stakeholders in Blockchain Association of Nigeria (SIBAN), Obinna Iwuno, who argued that if the CBN had regulated the industry, there would have been no rise in P2P because everybody would have been trading through regulated agencies and exchanges.

According to him, with accusing fingers pointed at P2P as sabotaging the economy, there might be more troubles for the industry, except the government sees the need to regulate it.

“What we are seeing currently is not the action of our industry, but because certain things have been made to look as though this is what our industry represents.

“Accusing fingers are being pointed at us when we are not guilty and it is one that we have to deal with because if we don’t deal with it, it has the possibility of spreading even further than it is now and hurting the industry more than it is already,” he said.

P2P and KYC

For the founder of Blockchain Nigeria User Group, Mr. Chuta Chimezie, the major issue in the blockchain industry is CBN’s inability to look into what the players are doing. He believes the exchanges handling P2P transactions are doing adequate KYC that could help the regulator in regulating the industry.

“Every exchange that I know that does p2p transaction does 100% KYC and they comply maximally to all the standards that the financial reporting standards outline for them to operate. But the problem here is that the industry is still like a ghost to the central bank.

“So, because they are not interfacing with that industry, they don’t even know the effort the people are putting in place. How will the CBN know if they don’t allow them to come under their regulation?

“These guys are dealing with financial services. They are dealing with financial instruments, so bring them into the regulatory environment, make them your friends, make them part of the financial system, and it will be easy for you to know who is doing what,” he said.

Banning P2P

On plans to ban crypto P2P trading in Nigeria, Chimezie said the P2P market in Nigeria has now grown to become an extension of the forex black market. According to him, an outright ban would not help the country because people would always find ways around it by leveraging technology.

But he agreed that there has to be an intervention from the government to save the nation’s currency.

“First of all, we are all Nigerians before being traders and the spirit of patriotism will drive us to agree that no responsible government will fold its hands and allow its national currency to be determined by the agreed level of traders in any platform.

“So, we agree that something needs to be done about that. We agree that there should be regulation and everyone who is involved in issuing, transmitting, or driving any aspect of digital assets should come into a regulatory environment.

“But it doesn’t have to be an outright ban because we’re dealing with a different kind of asset class because when you outrightly ban it, people will find a way to transact it and there’s nothing you can do about it,” he said.

The backstory

Recently, Nigeria’s National Security Adviser (NSA) classified cryptocurrency trading as a national security issue. Following this, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directed four fintech startups operating in the country—Opay, Moniepoint, Paga, and Palmpay—to block the accounts of customers engaging in cryptocurrency transactions and to report those transactions to law enforcement agencies.

Earlier in February this year, crypto trading platform, Binance, had to disable its peer-to-peer feature for Nigerian users as it came under the searchlight of the Nigerian government over allegations of currency manipulation and money laundering.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), during a virtual meeting with the Blockchain Industry Coordinating Committee of Nigeria (BICCoN), called for a new cryptocurrency measure that aims to remove the naira as a currency pair from cryptocurrency peer-to-peer platforms.

The Acting Director General of the SEC, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, who made the call, emphasized the need to clean up the virtual assets space from illegal trading activities and safeguard the integrity of the Nigerian capital market. Agama noted that the recent surge in peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto trading has reportedly impacted the Naira’s exchange rate, prompting the SEC to consider delisting the Naira from P2P platforms to curb market manipulation.

[Nairametrics]

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of the Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, as the Co-Chairman of the Governing Council of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).

This was contained in a statement issued by Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, on Thursday.

According to the statement, the appointment would ensure effective oversight of the gas aspect of the nation’s assets.

“In line with his avowed commitment to establish a more efficient, targeted, and consistent approval process for unique oil and gas projects in the country, President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Mr. Ekperikpe Ekpo, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), as the Co-Chairman of the Governing Council of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).

“This is also to further ensure effective oversight of the gas aspect of the nation’s assets.

“The President remains committed to unlocking Nigeria’s immense gas potential to stimulate industrial development, job creation, and sustainable economic growth,” the statement said.

[DailyTrust]