Ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Super Falcons of Nigeria have retained the top spot in Africa and the 36th spot in the globe as FIFA releases the latest world ranking.

FIFA arrived at the latest ranking released earlier today, Friday, June 14, 2024, after reviewing the performance of the Super Falcons and other teams in the last three months.

Note that in the said period, FIFA recorded 154 international matches in women’s football alone. Since February 2024, the Super Falcons played four games, two ended in straight victories, while the remaining two ended in goalless draws.

With that, they remain the best-ranked women’s team in Africa as they are set to fight for their first gold medal at the 2024 Olympics which will start for the team on July 25.

The reigning African women’s champions, South Africa are the second-highest-ranked team on the continent. They are ranked 50th in the world, 15 spots below Nigeria.

Below are the top ten ranked women’s teams in Africa and their place in the world ranking according to FIFA in June 2024:

1. Nigeria (36)
2. South Africa (51)
3. Morocco (56)
4. Zambia (64)
5. Ghana (65)
6. Cameroon (68)
7. Ivory Coast (71)
8. Tunisia (78)
9. Mali (81)
10. Equatorial Guinea (81)

Below is the top ten highest-ranked women’s team in the world according to FIFA in June 2024:

1. Spain
2. France
3. England
4. Germany
5. USA
6. Sweden
7. Japan
8. Canada
9. Brazil
10. Korea DPR

Note that the next FIFA women’s ranking will be released in August, following the 2024 Olympics.

President Ahmed Bola Tinubu should adopt measures to divide Nigeria into six geo-political zones with elements of regional autonomy to ensure equity and true federalism.

A human rights lawyer and Chairman of the Labour Party in Enugu West Senatorial Zone of Enugu State, Barr Nnadume Offorkansi, stated this in an interview in Enugu on Friday. He said Nigerians expect President Tinubu to champion the restructuring of Nigeria, having been in its forefront during the military era under the auspices of the National Democratic Coalition, NADECO.

Offorkansi however said there were some policies of the Tinubu administration already tilting towards restructuring Nigeria.

According to him, “The message in the old national anthem implies return to regionalism. There is a bill in the National Assembly for circling herders in their abodes. The current suit between the federal government and the states seeking the possibility of direct funding of local governments in Nigeria is another restructuring. The relocation of a key unit of the Central Bank of Nigeria from Abuja to Lagos is restructuring. We expect an end to states conducting elections into various LGAs when the LG autonomy is achieved.”

He advised Tinubu to create regions not based on the old ones because “there are already mistrusts in most of them”, adding that going back to regional structures would save Nigeria from its current conundrum.

Abuchi Anueyiagu, a public affairs analyst, also advised Tinubu to implement the report of the National Confab organized by former President Goodluck Jonathan.

According to him, the report, if implemented, would restructure Nigeria, and regretted that Jonathan’s re-election bid was behind his failure to implement it. He added that the confab report would have solved most of Nigeria’s political and economic problems.

Quoting him, “Restructuring will end various agitations for secession because it will grant the regions the autonomy to grow at their respective pace. Tinubu clamoured for it during the Jonathan administration.

“He is, therefore, expected to live by what he has been clamouring as an activist. He will endear himself to Nigerians, and he should avoid the mistake of waiting for his second tenure, which former President Jonathan made.”

The President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, says it is expanding the storage capacity of his refinery by 600 million litres.

This, according to him, will enable the refinery to have a storage capacity of 5.3 billion litres.
The Dangote Petrochemical Refinery refinery currently has 4.78 billion litres of storage capacity for refined petroleum products.

Dangote spoke at the Afreximbank Annual Meetings and AfriCaribbean Trade & Investment Forum in Nassau, The Bahamas on Wednesday.

The billionaire alleged that international oil companies refused to sell crude oil to his refinery because they did not want him to succeed.

Asked to speak on whether or not his refinery would crash the pump price of petrol, which currently sells at around N700 per litre, Dangote gave no affirmative answer, but he quickly recounted how the price of diesel fell from 1,700 to N1,200 when his diesel flooded the market.

“The issue of gasoline is certainly a different issue. That one is being dealt with by the government. But let me give you an example. In the diesel, which the industries, transporters and everybody consume; when we first started, it was N1,700, and the dollar conversion was about N1,200 then. Immediately when we started, within two weeks we brought down the price to N1,000. We took it from N1,700 to N1,200 and from N1,200 to N1,700, we have given more than 60 per cent drop in price.

“With the currency now back up to about N1,500 per dollar, the price is still below N1,200. That’s a big improvement, from N1,700 to N1,200. And the diesel is available, we are not living from hand to mouth anymore,” Dangote replied when asked about a possible petrol price cut.

The business mogul said the refinery would be a strategic reserve for refined products.

“The country doesn’t have strategic reserves in terms of petrol, which is very dangerous. But in our plant now, when you came, we had only 4.78 billion litres of various tankage capacity. But right now we’re adding another 600 million.

“So effectively, as we go forward, the refinery will be the strategic reserve of the country in terms of petroleum products,” he noted.

The Africa’s richest man explained that international oil companies denied him access to their crude because they did not think he could succeed with the 650,000 barrels per day capacity refinery.

“In a system where, for 35 years, people are used to counting good money, and all of a sudden, they see that the days of counting that money have come to an end, you don’t expect them to pray for you. Of course, you expect them to fight back.

“And I think that is the process that we’re now really going through. But the truth is that, yes, the country, the sub-region, and also the continent, of sub-Saharan Africa, need this refinery. So, you expect them to fight through non-supply of crude, non-purchase of the product, but I think it’s all temporary. We’ll get there,” he added.

Dangote has been importing crude oil from the United States to get feedstock for the refinery.

The Kano-born businessman added further that Nigeria has for years been importing dirty fuel into the country.

Dangote asked the Federal Government to enforce regulations stopping the importation of dirty fuels.

According to him, dirty fuels have been responsible for many cases of cancer in Nigeria and Africa.

Speaking of imported fuel, he said, “It is high sulfur, very polluting and also when you look at it, especially in Nigeria, in the past few years, we’ve been having cases of cancer, and most of these cases of cancer have to do with the bad fuel that we’ve been using. So, I will advise even here, you should check the quality of what is being dumped in your region in The Caribbean.”

He spoke further that Nigerian crude oil attracts the most premium, yet the nation imports the dirtiest fuels.

Asked if there is no regulation to check the quality of imported fuel, Dangote reported, “Now there is regulation, so it is upon the regulators to enforce the regulation.”

The PUNCH reports that despite its huge crude oil reserves, Nigeria still depends heavily on imported refined fuel.

But Dangote recently said Nigeria would no longer import any fuel by the time he begins the sale of PMS in the next few weeks.

When fully operational, Dangote disclosed that the refinery would supply cheaper fuel to the Caribbean, saying the price of fuel in that area is expensive.

He planned to set up a terminal in the region to give them access to cheaper energy.

“I don’t know the exact price but I know that the price in the Caribbean in terms of petroleum products is very high. So, we produce it cheaply, we can always bring it here, we can set up a terminal and we will be able to feed their needs.

“We have a bilateral agreement with them and bringing in stuff from there is not more than 18, 20 days maximum. Once we set up a terminal, they will have very cheap oil. They will have cheap energy. By having cheap energy, their economies will grow faster,” he maintained.

Dangote recalled that he was once persuaded by a former Minister of Energy in Saudi Arabia, Khalid Al-Falih, to shelve the idea of building a refinery. However, he said he told the former minister that he did not need his advice.

“Four years ago, I was in Saudi Arabia during the fasting period and I was invited for the breaking of the fast, Dr Falih, who used to be the Minister of Energy invited me to come and break the fast with him and I went there. He just said, ‘Aliko, I heard that you’re planning on building a refinery, what capacity?’ I said 650,000. He kept quiet for a while and said, ‘You know just about 120km from Mecca, we are building one and I think I would like you to go and have a look. We as Saudi Aramco, are facing a lot of challenges and, we are proceeding with it, but my advice to you is not to do it because normally, refineries are built by major oil corporations or sovereign countries.’

“I said, ‘But Your Excellency, unfortunately, we have already started, so I’m not looking for am advice.’ That was really how we continued,” he recounted.

Dangote revealed that both local and international cartels, which he described as “mafia”, made repeated attempts to sabotage the $19bn refinery project located in Lagos.

“Well, I knew that there would be a fight. But I didn’t know that the mafia in oil, they are stronger than the mafia in drugs. I can tell you that. Yes, it’s a fact,” he said.

Dangote, who described himself as a fighter, said they tried all sorts to stop him.

“As a matter of fact during the COVID period, some of the international banks were looking forward to making sure that they push us into default of our loans so that the project will just be dead. And that didn’t happen with the help of banks like Afreximbank,” it was stated.

He explained that he had paid off $2.4bn of the $5.5bn loan for his $19bn Lagos-based refinery.

“We borrowed the money based on our balance sheet. I think we borrowed just over $5.5bn. But we paid also a lot of interest as we went along, because the project was delayed because of a lack of land, also the sand-filling took a long time. Almost five years or so we didn’t do anything.

“We started in 2018. We borrowed that much. We have, of course, paid interest and some principal, about $2.4bn. We’ve done very well. We now have only about $2.7bn left to be paid. So we’ve done very well for a project of that magnitude,” he said.

Dangote generates 1,500MW

Talking about industries being energy independent, Dangote posited the refinery and his other companies are not putting any pressure on the grid, though he suggested that power production should be the business for other people.

“We don’t put pressure on the grid. Like us now, we produce about 1,500 megawatts of power for self-consumption. But if this thing is beneficial and it makes sense, there will be people who will concentrate on actually generating the power so it won’t be part of your cost. There are a lot of people that are doing industrial parks, and I think Afrexim Bank is involved in these parks in terms of funding; that will help. It means that once you come, you are just going to plug and play,” he added.

The PUNCH recalls that operators of modular refineries stated on Sunday that the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, should drop to about N300/litre upon the commencement of massive production by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and other indigenous producers.

Speaking under the aegis of the Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria, they explained that what happened to the cost of diesel after Dangote started producing it, would happen to petrol prices once it is being produced massively in Nigeria.

“A lot of companies today benefit from the importation of petroleum products at the expense of Nigerians,” the Publicity Secretary of CORAN, Eche Idoko, stated.

He told our correspondent that “if we begin to produce PMS today in large volumes, provided there is adequate crude oil supply, I can assure that we should be able to buy PMS at N300/litre as the pump price.

“Why make Nigerians buy it at almost N700/litre when you know that if you allow refineries to work the price will come down? Is it because you want to satisfy the global refiners abroad that are making so much from us?”

When told that there are arguments that it is not possible to have such a drop in price because crude oil, the raw material for PMS, is priced in dollars, the CORAN official insisted that the petrol price would crash once it is being produced massively by indigenous refiners.

He said, “We were selling diesel for N1,700 to N1,800/litre, but as soon as Dangote refinery started production he brought down the price to N1,200/litre. What other proofs do you need? As I speak to you now there is every tendency that before December diesel prices will drop further. The only reason why diesel is not doing below N1,000/litre is because of our exchange rate.

“If the exchange rate drops, diesel will drop below the N1,000/litre price. Now the exchange rate concern is because Dangote imports crude. If he is not importing, the exchange rate may not have so much effect, though he is still buying crude in dollars (in Nigeria) anyway.”

But oil marketers have repeatedly maintained that even if there would be a reduction in the pump price of petrol, it would be marginal.

On May 18, 2024, The PUNCH reported that Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, stated that following the laid-down plans of the Dangote refinery, Nigeria would no longer need to import petrol starting June this year.

Dangote had also stated that his refinery could meet West Africa’s petrol and diesel needs, as well as the continent’s aviation fuel demand. He spoke at the Africa CEO Forum Annual Summit in Kigali, expressing optimism about transforming Africa’s energy landscape.

“Right now, Nigeria has no cause to import anything apart from gasoline (petrol) and by sometime in June, within the next four or five weeks, Nigeria shouldn’t import anything like gasoline; not one drop of a litre,” the billionaire had declared.

Meanwhile, Dangote said his plan to release premium motor spirit into the market this month will no longer be possible. Dangote said this was due to some minor challenges, stating that the product would be out by July 10 to 15.

“We had a bit of delay, but PMS will start coming out by 10 to 15 of July. But then we want to keep it in the tank to make sure that it settles. So by the third week of July, we’ll be able to come out to take it into the market,” Dangote had said.

Africa’s richest person, Aliko Dan­gote, says local and foreign mafia tried several times to sabotage his $19 bil­lion refinery from coming to fruition.

This is as he said he has repaid about $2.4 billion of the $5.5 billion borrowed to build the refinery.

According to him, several entities did everything to sabotage the 650,000 barrels per day facility.

He spoke on Wednesday at the Afreximbank annual meetings (AAN) and AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum in Nassau, The Bahamas.

Dangote said he was aware that resistance would always exist, but he did not anticipate it being so harsh.

“Well, I knew that there would be a fight. But I didn’t know that the mafia in oil, they are stronger than the mafia in drugs. I can tell you that. Yes, it’s a fact. The local and foreign mafia tried several times to sabotage the refinery from coming to fruition,” he said.

The businessman, who tagged himself a fighter throughout his life, said the mafias had tried several times to defeat him.

“But I’m a person that has been fighting all my life. You know, so I think it’s part of my life to fight,” he said.

On if he was receiving enough crude oil as feed-stock for his refinery from the international oil companies (IOCs), Dangote said: “In a system where for 35 years people are used to counting good money, and all of a sudden they see that the days of counting that money have come to an end, you don’t expect them to pray for you. Of course, you expect them to fight back.

Linda Ikeji advises women to focus on achieving financial independence rather than relying on men for support.

She stressed that wealth is not limited to men alone, noting that she personally chooses to work towards financial freedom rather than depending on a man.

Highlighting the importance of fearlessness, strength, determination, and grace, Linda Ikeji encouraged women to take charge of their own destinies by pursuing their dreams, building their businesses, and breaking barriers. 

She also advised women to aim for financial success equal to or even greater than that of their partners, urging them to step up and take control of their own financial futures.

Taking to her Instagram post, Kinda Ikeji wrote :

“Dear young lady, I hear you! If that’s how you see life and want to live life, it’s your choice! To each his own. As for me, I’d rather be as rich as those men who must pay me for being beautiful. Being rich is not the birthright of men alone. I’d rather be their contemporary than waiting for their handouts.

“I know many believe it’s a man’s world; maybe it is, but with fearlessness, strength, determination, and grace, women can dominate and thrive in it. So, instead of waiting for men’s charity, I’d rather start early to fight for my dreams, build my business(es), break boundaries, and if God allows, shatter tables.”

The Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has shared photos of her 70th birthday celebration online.

 Okonjo, in the post via her X handle, described yesterday as one of the happiest days of her life.

While expressing appreciation to WTO Ambassadors, staff and members for their outpouring of love, the former Minister of Finance noted that she had never received as many flower bouquets from all over the world as she got today.

She wrote, “I don’t normally do personal tweets, but today is an exception! It has been one of the happiest days of my life – my 70th birthday! So much outpouring of love from everywhere!! I want to thank all WTO Ambassadors, WTO staff, friends and family! I’ve never received so many bouquets of flowers from all over the world, as I have today! Along with good wishes and prayers. I consider myself blessed to have a loving husband, family, friends and well wishers! All Glory and Thanks to God!”

The House of Representatives member representing Ifelodun/Boripe/Odo-Otin federal constituency in Osun State, Hon. Olusoji Adetunji, was allegedly harassed by his constituents during a recent visit to his hometown.

A viral social media video shows the lawmaker and his group being attacked by residents who allege he neglected their welfare, even though they had given him substantial electoral support.

It was observed in the video that locals surrounded him, screaming and calling for the representative to be beaten.

One woman cautioned the man filming against recording the incident. However, the person behind the camera insisted on filming, insulting the representative and other politicians.

See video below:

The spokesperson of the House of Representatives in the 10th National Assembly, Akin Rotimi, has declared that lawmakers in Nigeria earn ₦600,000 monthly.

He added that it could even be a little less than the ₦600,000 figure, boasting that he could provide his payslip as evidence.

Naija News reports the legislator made the revelation during an interview with TVC on Thursday when he was asked about the recent decision to increase the salary of lawmakers amidst the ongoing hardship in the country.

Confronted with the allegation that the lawmakers don’t have the trust of the people and can’t feel the pain of the masses because they live extravagant lives financed by taxpayers’ money, Rotimi argued that there is a lot of fake news, disinformation and exaggeration about what lawmakers earn.

He added that the House has resolved to take steps against those peddling wrong and exaggerated figures about the earnings of lawmakers in the country.

See the video.

Eight months after the Federal Government commenced payment of N35,000, a wage award in addition to N30,000 minimum wage to workers, and urged state governments to replicate it, 15 states are yet to do so while seven paid briefly and stopped.

The wage award was to lessen the burden of economic hardship on the citizenry pending the implementation of a new minimum wage.

The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, described the refusal of some states to pay the wage award to their workers as the height of insensitivity, lamenting the suffering workers were going through as a result of the anti-poor policies of the government.

Meanwhile, 15 states are paying sums ranging from N10,000 to N40,000 to their workers as wage awards or salary increments.

States that are not paying include one in the South-East, four in the South-South, three in the North-East, two in the North-Central and five in the North-West.

Meanwhile, states that paid wage awards for one to four months and stopped include Delta, Niger, Plateau, Kaduna, Bauchi and Nasarawa.

On the other hand, states that are paying are Lagos, Edo, Bayelsa, Imo, Enugu, Anambra, Ebonyi, Ondo, Osun, Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti, Kano, Kwara, Cross River and Taraba.

Tinubu’s plea

President Bola Tinubu, in March, during a working visit to Minna, Niger State, urged the 36 state governors to begin payment of wage awards to workers in their states, saying the move will alleviate hardship in the country.

Governors Hyacinth Alia (Benue), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos) and AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (Kwara) were among the governors at the event.

Speaking directly to Abdulrazaq, who is chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF, Tinubu said: “I have been paying wage awards pending determination of the new minimum wage. Let all the sub-nationals start paying that. The wage award, with whatever they are taking now, will relieve the public. I am not giving an order, I am appealing to you sub-nationals. It’s a relief to the people.”

States not paying

Despite the president’s plea, many states are yet to commence paying wage awards to their workers.
In Delta State, the Commissioner for Information, Dr. Ifeanyi Osuoza said the state government will set up a committee to examine wage-related issues.

He said: “Governor Sheriff Oborevwori said during Workers Day that a committee would be set up to look into it so that, at the end of the day, we can be able to be on the same page with labour and workers; that is the line we are following.”

On whether the committee will look into wage awards in addition to minimum wage, Osuoza said: “Anything that has to do with emoluments for workers, the committee will look at it.”

Rivers and Akwa Ibom governments said they were waiting for an official declaration by the Federal Government on the wage increase while the Delta State government had set up a committee to review workers’ wages.

Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State assured that his administration will key into the new minimum wage for workers when it comes into force.

“We have directed the compilation of casual workers in the state. We will continue to ensure that we support our workers, and we will continue to do our best to make them happy. We will ensure that we continue to improve our workers’ welfare.

“And on the minimum wage, we will wait for the Federal Government and then we will key into it and come to terms with the minimum wage for Akwa Ibom civil servants,” the governor stated on Workers Day.

The Rivers State Government is also awaiting the outcome of the tripartite negotiations between the Labour, Organised Private Sector, and the Federal Government on minimum wage to determine its next action.

While labour is demanding N250,000 minimum wage, the Federal Government and OPS have offered N62,000. President Tinubu in his Democracy Day broadcast said he will send an executive bill to the National Assembly on the issue soon.

Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Joseph Johnson, said: “With the robust relationship existing between government and workers in the state, we are only waiting for the outcome of ongoing negotiations between Labour and the Federal Government to do the needful. We will take a position when the parties decide what to pay the workers. We will look at the size of our portfolio and decide on what to do.”

President of Rivers State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, Clifford Paul, told Vanguard that Governor Sim Fubara had approved the payment of N35,000 to workers
He said Fubara announced the approval during a meeting with NULGE leadership and principal officers of the local government councils at the Government House, Port Harcourt.

“The governor also approved immediate implementation of the N35,000 wage award approved by the Federal Government to cushion the effect of the removal of .”

The chair of the NLC in the state, Alex Agwanwor, regretted that the governor had not commenced the implementation because of political distractions.

He said: “The state government has not started the payment but plans have been concluded. The problem we have now is the political unrest in the state. The political distraction in the state is much and I think it is affecting the implementation.

“We are not bothered about that now. It is not our priority now. What the governor is doing for the workers in the state is even more. We cannot assess his performance based on that because he is taking care of the welfare of the workers with a good heart,” he said.

Workers plead with Otti

An Abia, Chairman of the NLC, Okoro Ogbonnaya, pleaded with Governor Alex Otti to approve the payment of the N35, 000 wage awards to mitigate the plights of workers in the face of the biting economic hardship in the country.

In his response, Governor Otti promised to look into the workers’ request and take action very soon.

Kebbi sets up minimum wage committee

In Kebbi State, the state government is yet to begin payment of wage award but the governor on May 1, 2024, set up committee to come up with a sustainable minimum wage for workers.

Borno, Yobe distribute foodstuff, palliatives

Although Borno and Yobe states under the leadership of Governors Babagana Zulum and Mai Buni, were yet to pay wage award to civil servants or pensioners, the two states have procured and distributed food and non-food items to the citizenry, including civil servants and pensioners, all aimed at cushioning the economic hardship.

States that paid partially and stopped

In Niger State, the government is paying N30,000 minimum wage. Governor Muhammed Bago paid the sum of N20,000 as a palliative to workers once and inaugurated a committee under the chairmanship of the state Head of Service, Alhaji Abubakar Salisu to work out acceptable minimum wage and salary structure for workers in the state.

The Katsina State government is among the states where some level of compliance had been achieved regarding the payment of some form of palliatives to workers.

Governor Umaru Radda paid N15,000 twice as wage palliative to state and local government workers in the state. Pensioners also got N10,000 twice. The first award was paid in February and second was paid as Ramadan/Sallah package.

Nasarawa State government paid workers the sum of N10,000 twice as wage award.

At the same time, retired workers have been paid the sum of N5,000 for four months.

In like manner, Bauchi State paid N10,000 to its civil servants during the Sallah celebration and gave out some food items as palliatives at other times.

The Plateau State Government has paid N12,000 as palliative to each of its workers for six months.

States paying wage awards

Edo and Bayelsa states have announced wage increment for civil servants in the two states.

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, who signaled the surprise package for workers, gave them a shocker on April 29, two days before Workers Day, when he announced a new minimum wage of N70,000.

He said the new scheme would begin in May, and if the negotiated wage between the Federal Government and labour were higher, the government would make necessary adjustments. As he promised, he started paying the 70,000 minimum wage in May. The Bayelsa State government also approved wage awards for its workers.

A breakdown of the wage awards, worked out by a committee headed by the head of the state’s civil service, revealed that workers from Grades 1–14 received N20,000; 15–17 cadre got N30,000 and Permanent Secretaries N100,000.

Confirming the development, chairman of Trade Union Congress, TUC, in Bayelsa, Julius Laye said: “In Bayelsa State, the payment started last month, although those at the local government received about five months, and it stopped.”

Imo raises wages with N10,000

Governor Hope Uzodinma gave Imo workers N10,000, bringing their current minimum wage to N40, 000.
Imo State government also said it has provided free transportation scheme for workers as part of measures to cushion effect of fuel subsidy removal.

Mbah pays N25000, N10,000 in Enugu

In Enugu, Governor Peter Mbah has been paying wage award since December 2023, to the employees of the state government, local government workers and primary school teachers.

For the state civil servants, the state government pays N25,000 to each worker, but pays N10,000 to employees of local governments and primary school teachers.

Speaking on the issue, Chairman of the TUC in the state, Ben Asogwa, said that workers in the state are happy with the payments, which he described as evidence that the governor is committed to workers’ welfare.

Ebonyi workers get N10,000 extra

,In Ebonyi, Governor Francis Nwifuru added N10,000 as wage award to the salaries of civil servants in the State.

Ondo pays N35,000 to workers, N10,000 to pensioners

In Ondo State, the government is paying N35,000 wage award to workers and N10,000 to pensioners.
Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Ebenezer Adeniyan, said the payment started in October last year.

Adeniyan added that it was supposed to be for three months but the governor extended it, adding that shuttle buses have been provided for workers and schoolchildren across the state by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s administration.

Osun pays N15,000 to workers, N10,000 to pensioners

In Osun State, the government is paying N15,000 to workers while retirees get N10,000 as wage award. The governor had approved payment of wage award since December 2023, and has been paying the said amount till date.

It’s N10,000 in Ogun

The Ogun State government is paying N10,000 wage award to all categories of workers in the state.
Chairman of the TUC in the state, Mr. Lasisi Akeem, said government has been paying N10,000 transport allowance to all civil servants for the past nine months and N10,000 to pensioners

Akeem added that the state government has paid 40 per cent of the basic salary of workers in the state as Peculiar Allowance, to cushion effect of fuel subsidy removal.

Oyo, Kwara, Anambra workers get boost

In Oyo, the state government pays N25,000 to its workers and N15,000 to pensioners. Governor Seyi Makinde started paying the awards in November 2023.

In addition, the governor also approved payment of 13th month salary to the workers, and released buses to major parts of the state at highly subsidized rates.

Before the six months he promised to pay N25,000 lapsed, he extended the payment of palliatives for another six months making one year. 

In Kwara State, civil servants are being paid N10,000 wage award by the state government.
“We are being paid monthly N10,000 wage award by Kwara State government since subsidy removal,” Muritala Olayinka, the NLC chairman, told Vanguard.

In Anambra, Governor Chukwuma Soludo paid N12, 000 for four months between September to December 2023.
Soludo had earlier announced a 10 per cent salary increase, which the state has been paying since January 2023 as part of his response to rising cost of living.

The workers, however, expressed disappointment when the wage increase was stopped at the end of last year. During the last workers’ day celebration on May 1, this year, the state chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Humphrey Nwafor pleaded with Governor Soludo to re-introduce the wage increase in view of the biting inflation in the country, while waiting for the expected new minimum wage.

Lagos pays N35,000 wage award

In Lagos, workers have been getting N35,000 wage award since December 2023 in addition to N35,000 minimum wage to its workers.

Commissioner for Establishment, Training and Pensions, Afolabi Ayantayo, said the payment is in line with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s commitment to welfare of workers.

“This is in addition to a three-day work week for Levels 1-13 civil servants, which was introduced this year. This measure aims to provide relief and flexibility reflecting the state government commitment to the workforce’s well-being,” he added.

Kano, Taraba workers get wage awards

The Kano State government has been paying workers N20,000 and pensioners N15,000 as wage awards.
In Taraba, the state government is paying the N30,000 minimum wage, and salary increment of N10,000 to N15,000 to workers.

Governors not paying are insensitive –Labour

Reacting to the development, an official of NLC, who spoke on condition of anonymity since he was not authorised to speak, said: “It is a fact that many state governors are not implementing the wage award which was a product agreement Organised Labour reached with the Federal Government on October 5, 2023. This was a product of the understanding of the huge negative consequences government’s policies had foisted on Nigerian works across the nation. This was supposed to be cascaded down to the states by the governors in a dialogue with NLC and TUC in their respective states.

“Governors that are not complying are mainly those who have continued to demonstrate serious disdain and contempt for the plight of workers who create wealth in their states. It is insensitive for a governor who has adjusted upwards the wages of political appointees in their states to believe that workers do not have the right to have a fair share of the resources of the state.

“It is worthy of note that all the governors are beneficiaries of the increased revenue from FAAC as a result of the hike in the price of PMS which created multiples of revenues to the state treasuries. However, because the welfare of the workers are not prioritized by the governors, they divert them into other projects which sometimes are wasteful. 

“It is unfortunate that many Governors have continued to see workers’ salaries as charity which it is not. This has shaped their mindset into believing that salaries are a waste instead of an investment which it should be for the state because when workers are paid well, productivity increases and vice versa.”

An Ekiti State High Court, Ado Ekiti on Thursday sentenced the cleric of a church at Omuo Ekiti in the Ekiti East Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Pastor Enoch, to life imprisonment for raping a minor.

The victim said to be the daughter of one of the church members, was raped by the pastor during one of her visits to the cleric’s residence.

The young girl was said to be a frequent visitor to the mission house to help the pastor’s wife with house chores and as well support the young children in their school assignments.

The Ekiti State Director of Public Prosecutions, Julius Ajibade, who prosecuted the case, said, “It was during one of the minor’s visits to the mission house that the defendant (pastor) sedated her with a bottle of Fanta. The girl slept off after taking the drink only to wake up and find out that she was bleeding profusely from her private parts.

“The defendant was arrested and charged to court. He was charged with the offence of rape contrary to Section 2 of the Gender–Based Violence (Prohibition) Law, 2019.”

The DPP called four witnesses and tendered two exhibits to prove his case.

The defendant spoke through his counsel, Adeyinka Opaleke, who gave evidence in his defence as he called only one other witness.

In his judgment, Justice Olusegun Ogunyemi held that “the prosecution proved the offence of rape against the defendant beyond reasonable doubt.”

The judge consequently convicted the defendant and sentenced him to life imprisonment.