National Union of Electricity Employees, (NUEE), has threatened to shut down the power sector if the President of Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC), Joe Ajaero, is arrested.

WITHIN NIGERIA recalls that the Intelligence Response Team, (IRT), arm of the Nigerian Police Force, (NPF), had on Monday, August 19, invited Ajaero, for questioning over alleged Criminal Conspiracy, Terrorism Financing, Treasonable Felony, Subversion and Cybercrime. 

NUEE’s Acting General Secretary, Igwebike Dominic, while reacting in a statement, said that NUEE noted with utter dismay the political machinations surrounding the police invitation of its General Secretary-cum-President of Nigeria Labour Congress – Comrade Joe Ajaero as a purported fall out of the politically-motivated investigation into an alleged trump up charges of terrorism financing, cybercrime, subversion, criminal conspiracy and treasonable felony against him.

The statement noted that it was not only embarrassing, but childish and clueless for the Federal Government of Nigeria to take to the antics of witch-hunting, harassment, intimidation and name-calling instead of coming out openly to apologize to the Congress and its leadership for the unlawful invasion of NLC National headquarters few days ago.

According to the statement, the choice by the Government to stifle labour and free speech in the country as a tool to compel Nigerians to continue to suffer in silence in the face of government policies that were not favorable to the people was quite deplorable. 

The statement said, “Those in government, especially elected leaders, should be mindful of their actions in times like this, if they have the love of the country at heart.”

It emphasised that it was so painful to see this happening in a democracy where it is supposed to be ‘Government of the people, by the people and for the people’, lamenting that what Nigerians have is simply the government of the selected few, for themselves against the people.

The NUEE’s Acting General Secretary noted that it was a blatant abuse of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and International Labour Organization Conventions especially convention 87 and 98, was unacceptable and would be vehemently resisted.

The Union condemned in its entirety what it called Government’s interference in the Labour movement through the weapons of intimidation and official harassment of Labour Leaders, in the country, warning that in the event that Comrade Ajaero is arrested, they will have no choice but to go with the NLC directives.

NUEE called on their National, Zonal, State and Chapter leadership to commence immediate mobilization of their teaming members in Generation, Transmission and Distribution to withdraw their services in the event that Comrade Joe Ajaero is arrested.

They also called on the Federal Government to tread with caution as the entire Nation was angry and heated up already because of the hunger and hyper-inflation in the land.

According to NUEE, “The rights of citizens must be respected and guaranteed if the country must move forward.”

Four petroleum products hawkers have been apprehended and over 2,000 litres of the products recovered in Lagos State.

The Lagos State Taskforce on Environment and Special Offences Enforcement Unit made the disclosure on Tuesday.

According to the agency, the hawkers were arrested in the Mile-2 area of the State.

In a statement on Tuesday, the agency’s spokesperson, Gbadeyan Abdulraheem, stated that the hawking of Petroleum products is a recipe for disaster, hence the arrest of those indulging in such illegal and unwholesome practice.

According to him, apart from the fire outbreak, the illegal structures where they sold the products were seriously impeding traffic in the Mile-2 Oke area. 

The spokesperson noted that the operation was carried out following directives from the state government and the Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, CP Adegoke Fayoade.

Abdulraheem said the illegal structures were also used by suspected criminals, who always attacked motorists and other road users at night and early morning.

“We have directives to dismantle the illegal structures and clear the area of vendors selling goods, particularly petroleum products, by the roadside.

“Among the most pressing issues addressed is the illegal sale of petrol and diesel by the roadside, where over 2,000 litres of petroleum products have been seized.

“This is a dangerous practice that poses a significant risk of fire hazards and explosions. We will ensure that such activities that endanger the lives of these illegal merchants and other road users are brought to a complete halt,” he said.

Mr Abdulraheem added that the agency would continue to monitor the area to prevent the resurgence of illegal activities and to ensure the roads remained clear for safe and smooth transportation.

He said those arrested would be charged to court, and items confiscated would be forfeited to the Lagos State government through the court.

(NAN)

President Joe Biden recently revealed the reasoning behind his decision to step down from the 2024 United States presidential race. Speaking at the Democratic National Convention, Biden emphasized that his decision was not influenced by anger towards those urging him to step aside but was driven by his love for the country and the need to preserve democracy.

During his speech, which marked the culmination of his lengthy political career spanning over five decades, Biden reflected on his time as senator, vice president, and president. He expressed deep pride in his accomplishments while acknowledging the importance of stepping aside for the greater good. “I love the job, but I love my country more,” Biden stated, underscoring his commitment to the nation’s future.

Despite winning the Democratic nomination five months ago and being expected to run for a second term, Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. He called on the crowd to support Harris and Tim Walz as the party’s president and vice president candidates.

Biden’s speech was punctuated by moments of reflection on key events that shaped his decision to enter the presidential race, including the 2017 white supremacist rallies in Charlottesville and the January 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol. He highlighted the importance of standing against hate and violence and reiterated his commitment to moving America forward.

In his remarks, Biden humorously acknowledged his age, noting that he was too young when he first entered the Senate at 29 and now too old to continue as president. However, he reassured the audience that he had always done his best to serve the American people.

Biden’s decision to step down and his endorsement of Kamala Harris reflect his dedication to ensuring the continued strength of American democracy, even if it means stepping aside from the role he has held with honour and distinction.

Financial institutions that have started raising capital have stated that they will allocate $1.20bn from the proceeds to invest in technology and bolster their cybersecurity infrastructure.

This was indicated in the offer prospectus of five lenders that have commenced their capital raise, to meet the new capital requirement of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

In late March, the CBN announced new capital requirements for the banks operating in the country.

The apex bank directed commercial banks with international authorisation to increase their capital base to N500bn, national banks to N200bn and those with regional authorisation were expected to achieve a N50bn capital floor.

CBN gave the financial institutions two years to achieve the target and three options: raising additional capital, mergers and acquisitions, and licence upgrade or downgrades. According to PwC, there is a significant capital shortfall of N4.2tn across all licence categories, as much as between 35 per cent and per cent of the new minimum capital.

An analysis of the offering documents showed that Guaranty Trust Holding Company had budgeted the highest amount to be invested in technology.

GTCO offered nine billion ordinary shares of 50 each at N44.50 per share with the intent to raise about N400.50bn.

Of its net proceeds of N392.49bn, the holding company said 94.3 per cent of the proceeds (N370bn) would go towards the recapitalisation of its banking subsidiary, GTBank, while the remaining 5.7 per cent would be on the acquisition of pension fund administration and asset management businesses.

The offer document revealed that GTBank intends to spend N98.50bn (26.6 per cent) of the net offer proceeds on technology infrastructure upgrades, with a majority of it going towards, “Core banking application implementation, associated hardware infrastructure, network architecture, and ancillary costs related to optimisation of data centre/disaster recovery centre.”

Meanwhile, information security & fraud prevention and detection software get about N15bn (4.1 per cent) of the net proceeds.

Access Holdings indicated that 20 per cent of the net proceeds from its rights offer (N343.09bn) would be invested in IT infrastructure upgrades and development.

About N41.17bn would be invested in network infrastructure and N27.48bn in cybersecurity capabilities, bringing the total spend on IT to N68.62bn.

A significant portion of the net proceeds would go towards local and international business expansion (N223.01bn).

Zenith Bank Plc said that the proceeds of its offering would “enable the bank to conclude the overhaul of its information technology infrastructure and provide additional working capital to support its expanding operations and enable the Bank to take maximum advantage of emerging opportunities”.

For investment in technology, Zenith Bank noted that it would spend about 20 per cent of the net proceeds, N99.27bn, which amounts to N19.85bn.

A breakdown showed that Zenith Bank planned to spend N8.93bn on computer hardware/servers, N3.97bn each on software licences, registration and network infrastructure upgrades and another N2.98bn on cybersecurity architecture/software.

Fidelity Bank, which has closed its offering, planned to invest about N19.01bn in IT infrastructure, which is about 20 per cent of the net proceeds from the offering.

The bank, which raised about N127bn in its combined offer, said that it intended to invest N9.03bn in cybersecurity capabilities, N7.60bn in software licences and hardware and N2.38bn as additional investment in its network infrastructure.

Of the five banks reviewed, FCMB Group has the least amount budgeted for technology at N16.22bn (15 per cent of the net proceeds). About N11bn would go to upgrade its information technology infrastructure and N5.23bn towards investment in cybersecurity capabilities.

Fresh budgets for IT infrastructure are being allocated amid a recent surge in attacks on banks’ technology infrastructure, resulting in financial losses and subsequent legal actions.

Also, days ago, GTB confirmed that there was an attempt to compromise its website, which left customers unable to access online services. 

The bank, in a mail, reassured its customers that the hacking attempt was not successful and that its website was not cloned.

“While there was an isolated incident of an attempt to compromise our website domain, we would like to reassure our customers and stakeholders that the bank’s website has not been cloned and that we do not store customer information on our website, and as such, there has been no instance of compromise of customer data,” GTB said in the statement.

The International Monetary Fund’s Global Financial Stability Report in April indicated that the risk of extreme losses from cyber incidents was increasing.

“Such losses could potentially cause funding problems for companies and even jeopardise their solvency. The size of these extreme losses has more than quadrupled since 2017 to $2.5bn and indirect losses like reputational damage or security upgrades are substantially higher,” another IMF report said.

Meanwhile, the reviewed banks intend to spend about N22.94bn on the offer costs to raise a combined N1.06tn.

Offer costs include all costs, expenses and taxes on them, stamp duty, spending on underwriting, legal, accounting, printing, distribution, filing and registration fees, marketing and advertising expenses and other miscellaneous expenses.

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has reaffirmed that the federal government’s prohibition on rice importation via land borders remains firmly in place.

This clarification was made amid recent announcements concerning new fiscal measures aimed at food imports, specifically paddy rice.

Speaking during an inspection at the Apapa port in Lagos, Comptroller-General of NCS, Adewale Adeniyi, stressed that while the fiscal policies have been updated, they primarily focus on brown rice and paddy rice, allowing them to be imported duty-free.

However, these changes do not affect the existing ban on rice being brought into the country through land borders.

Adeniyi emphasized, “The new fiscal measures do not permit rice to be brought in through land borders. The only modification is that brown rice or rice paddy will now be allowed duty-free.”

He further explained that rice imported in smaller quantities via the seaports, especially by those with access to foreign exchange, does not fall under the Customs Service’s import prohibition.

Periodic inspections reveal rice being imported at the port, typically in smaller packages.

These imports, according to the Comptroller-General, are not covered by the prohibition act and are allowed under the new fiscal guidelines.

The NCS remains committed to enforcing this policy across all land borders, maintaining Nigeria’s push towards local production and food security.

The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has said it will not be silenced by state-sponsored harassment, intimidation, attacks and persecution, following the invitation of its President, Joe Ajaero, by the police on allegations of criminal conspiracy, terrorism financing, treasonable felony, subversion and cybercrime.

Naija News reports that one of the leaders of NLC in an interview with Vanguard said it remained committed to its opposition to mass suffering and hunger occasioned by the anti-people policies of the Federal Government, saying some interest groups are doing everything possible to silence the current leadership of Congress.

NLC also called on its affiliates to shut down the economy should Ajaero be arrested by the police.

The leader said, “There are grand designs by some interest groups to silence NLC under the current leadership. But they fail to understand that we cannot be silenced.

“We are fighting a just cause. We have the right to express our views in a democracy. The workers elected us to fight and make demands for them. They are hungry, they are suffering, and they are dying and are in pain. These are what we are telling the government which they do not want to hear. These are the reasons they are after us, trying to cow us by all means.

“The operator of the bookshop (Iva Valley) has been on the second floor of Labour House for years. We did not bring him there. If he has issues with the police, what concerns us? We believe the state is using this as a cover-up. They aim to emasculate Labour because of their vested interest.”

Meanwhile, human rights activist and lawyer to the NLC, Femi Falana, SAN, has explained why Ajaero could not honour Police invitation for him to appear at the Force Headquarters on Tuesday, saying the labour leader can only appear on August 29.

Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has accused the presidency and the National Assembly of being bandits against Nigerians.

Naija News reports that Ezekwesili made the comment while speaking on the purchase of the new presidential aircraft during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today.

She said there was no justification for the purchase of a new jet for the president when Nigerians were drifting into poverty every minute.

She added that nobody should pity President Bola Tinubu because he agreed with everything former President Muhammadu Buhari was doing.

She said, “That aircraft is 19-year-old. In everything that we have heard, they are trying to justify the purchase of the new aircraft.

“The fellows dare to play with the intelligence of the public. The executive, the presidency, the National Assembly, I think they have decided that they are the bandits.

“The political class has decided that they are bandits against Nigerians. Because I do not see how it is feasible that the priority of a government that has this level of biting hunger in the land, this level of poverty where people are dropping into poverty per minute will consider the purchase of aircraft for the president.

“The construction of N20 billion homes for the vice president; the purchase of all kinds of funny looking cars and the fleet of the National Assembly members and the executive, what exactly is that?

“I said it publicly that it would not be a piece of cake to run the economy because of the absolute devastation of everything that even resembled economic policy. I don’t think they were doing economic policy under President Buhari.

“But this administration agreed with everything Buhari was doing. There in their own case nobody should feel sorry for them.

“They were culpable in it. The problem with Nigerian societies is that they quickly forget things. I always complain about governance because I understand the basic principles.

“You cannot have education, an advanced one and have political literacy that then the country will not matter to you.”

The Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has called on the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to be transparent about the details surrounding the newly acquired presidential jet and the status of the older jets that are being sold off.

Obi made his appeal on Tuesday night via his X (formerly Twitter) account, where he raised concerns over the recent acquisition of the Airbus A330 jet by the Nigerian government.

The purchase of the jet, which reportedly cost $100 million, has been shrouded in controversy, especially after it was revealed that the aircraft had been seized by a French court as part of a legal dispute between a Chinese firm, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited, and the Ogun State government.

The newly acquired jet was used by President Tinubu during his working visit to France on Monday.

Despite earlier denials and conflicting reports surrounding the purchase, the French court’s involvement eventually brought the matter to light.

Obi emphasized the need for the Tinubu administration to provide full disclosure on the acquisition process and clarify the fate of the older jets being sold off from the presidential fleet.

The presidential candidate said, “Now that the Jet is here, can Nigerian taxpayers whose money was used to purchase it need to be privy to how much it cost and how old the aircraft is and how long its been in operation.

“In addition, Nigerians also deserve to know about how the old jets being disposed, how many of them, how old they are, and why they are being sold. Transparency and Accountability should be the hallmark of any genuine leadership.”

He said that the federal government would lose nothing but respect, if it failed to provide adequate information about its leadership to the people whose money was being deployed and whose mandate the President was holding.

“A presidential jet is a major symbol of national sovereignty and state power. How much it costs to transport the president, is a major issue of public accountability. I hope that Nigerians will not be denied the right of full disclosure on the new presidential jet,” Obi added.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has supported the call for former President Goodluck Jonathan to join the 2027 presidential race.

Recall that the Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed vowed to jettison his presidential ambition if Jonathan indicates any interest to contest.

Some northern elites and politicians who are displeased with President Bola Tinubu’s administration have also called for Jonathan’s return to the presidency.

Reacting to the development during an interview with Punch, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Ibrahim Abdullahi, said the position of the Bauchi governor and northern elites resonated with the opposition party.

He said, “We are absolutely in support of the position of the Bauchi State governor. Don’t forget, he was a prominent member of the. Jonathan’s administration where he was a minister. As the chairman of the 13 governors of the PDP, a two-term minister, former senator and a two-term governor rounding off his second term, you will expect him to understand and appreciate the situation of where this country is coming from, where it is at the moment and where we hope to take it to in the future.

“If you are talking about a southern Presidency in 2027, we should be looking at one who had enjoyed one term and will probably give Nigerians hope and prosperity as opposed to the one we have in power. Secondly, if you are also talking about a nationalist, somebody who would not rig an election to keep himself in office, who announced before the counting process was over, that he lost, it has to be Jonathan.

“You remember that he called the victor, congratulated him and asked him to send people for the transition process. So, it is this kind of person with a listening ear that we believe can save the situation. No President in Nigerian history has been as criticised as Ebele Jonathan. We tolerated all sorts of insults targeted at us and his Presidency. But today, he is the one everybody is looking for with torchlight, even in broad daylight.”

When reminded that the decision may not go down well with PDP former presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, who has been labelled a serial contester by the ruling All Progressives Congress, the PDP spokesman  argued that Atiku cannot dictate for the party who to field in 2027 despite being a major stakeholder of the PDP.

“It is not the place of Atiku to decide for the PDP. We are running a national political party, for crying out loud; one that has governed this country for 16 years. We cannot be expected to have one person determining the direction of the party. If anything, we respect him. He has given it (the presidency) a trial and has been on this for too long.

“But there are times when you realise a battle is no longer around you and you support someone. This is how things are done. If in 2019, we tried, in 2023, we tried again with Atiku, there is nothing wrong in trying someone else in 2027, especially if the odds seemed to favour that person more, which is the case.

“The situation this country is facing today is one that has gone beyond party lines or other narrow considerations. We require a nationalist in the clout of Goodluck Jonathan to be able to salvage the situation. It is clear that for the six and a half years that he was President, he was able to stabilise the forex to a very reasonable extent. The country was able to go on single digit inflation. This we will continue to reference,” he stated.

Northern Nigerian leaders are coming together for a crucial summit to strengthen the region’s political and economic standing ahead of the 2027 elections.

This initiative, spearheaded by the League of Northern Democrats—a group comprising former governors, senators, and other key figures—is centered on addressing the region’s political trajectory, economic growth, and security issues.

The initiative follows the 2023 general elections, which saw political power shift to the southern region after eight years under former President Muhammadu Buhari, a northerner.

During the election, major contenders included Bola Tinubu of the APC from the South West, Peter Obi of the Labour Party from the South East, and Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, representing the North.

The recent #EndBadGovernance protests in the North, marked by demonstrations and the display of Russian flags, demanding the overthrow of the democratically-elected president, have raised significant concerns among the region’s leaders.

Vice President, Kashim Shettima, addressing the situation, revealed that a high-level meeting of northern stakeholders, including governors, politicians, business executives, and traditional leaders, will soon be convened.

The meeting aims to address the violence witnessed during the protests and explore solutions to the region’s challenges, which Shettima attributed to leadership failures.

The summit will officially be announced at a forthcoming event in Kaduna.

Speaking on the plan for a northern summit on Tuesday, the Protem Chairman of the LND and former governor of Kano State, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, said, “The LND resolved to organise a Northern Nigerian Political Summit, to be held in Kaduna.

“This summit will serve as a platform for discussing the region’s political future, economic development, and security challenges. It will bring together key leaders, thinkers, and influencers to chart a new course for the North.”

In an interview with journalists on the sidelines of the meeting, Shekarau expressed the group’s concern about the progress of the region.

He said the group intended to evaluate the challenges confronting the North, particularly security issues, and create a document detailing possible solutions to tackle the problems.

Shekarau said, “We came together to analyse and review the problem bedevilling the northern part of Nigeria. We said we need to embark on general societal reorientation, to enlighten the people on what are their basic challenges and their basic needs.

“It is apolitical though. It is not about any person or any political party, and it is necessarily not about 2027. It is an all-time issue. We want to produce a document, which is not about a year, two-year, or 10-year issue.

“The whole idea is to produce a document that we can confront anybody seeking our votes that these are the aspirations of our people and we want you to assure us that this will be part of your guiding principles.”

In a communiqué jointly signed by the convener, Umar Ardo, and the interim secretary, Emmanuel Jime, the LND announced its resolution to unify the North and reestablish it as a dominant force in national politics.

To achieve this, the group planned to invite prominent northern stakeholders, including former heads of state, current and former vice presidents, and former Senate presidents to rally support for the initiative.

According to the communique, the LND would engage with past Speakers of the House of Representatives, former security chiefs, and other influential figures to gather widespread backing for their efforts.

The statement reads, “The LND resolved to prioritise the political unity of Northern Nigeria. Recognising the diverse backgrounds and experiences within our ranks, we are committed to fostering a strong sense of community and solidarity.

“This unity will serve as the foundation for our efforts to reposition the North as a leading force in Nigeria’s political landscape.”