The First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has called on the nation’s workforce to redouble their efforts towards enhancing national development and productivity.

Mrs Tinubu made this known on Wednesday, in her address to mark the 2024 International Workers Day celebration.

She said, “I acknowledge the immense contributions of our nation’s workforce which is renowned for its dedication, resilience, and innovation.”

The first lady urged citizens to not only celebrate but also to contemplate how they can contribute to a more efficient and productive workforce.

“Today, let us not only celebrate work but also reflect on how we can be a better and more productive workforce.

“On this Workers’ Day, I celebrate the spirit of work with pride. May it continue to be a source of strength, prosperity, and national progress for Nigeria.

“I therefore salute the teachers who nurture young minds, the farmers who cultivate our land, the doctors and nurses who safeguard our health,” she acknowledged.

Furthermore, Mrs. Tinubu extended her appreciation to engineers and countless other professionals whose efforts contribute to the nation’s development.

She said, “I salute the engineers who build our infrastructure, and countless others who dedicate their skills and energy to building a better Nigeria.”

The first lady reiterated her commitment to supporting initiatives aimed at fostering a more vibrant and productive workforce, emphasizing the role of each person in Nigeria’s journey towards progress and prosperity.

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has expressed worries over the declining economic activities in Nigeria.

The CBN deputy governor of Corporate Services, Bala Moh’d Bello, disclosed this in his personal statement at the end of the last Monetary Policy Committee meeting released on the Banks’ website on Tuesday.

He noted that the country’s Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index, PMI, declined sharply to 39.2 index points in February 2024 from 48.5 index points in the previous month.

He stressed that economic activity has contracted for eight months due to exchange rate pressures, inflation and security challenges.

“It is concerning to note that the Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) declined sharply to 39.2 index points in February 2024 from 48.5 index points in the previous month.

“Economic activity has been contracting for eight consecutive months, mainly due to exchange rate pressures, rising input prices, security challenges, and other idiosyncratic headwinds. This calls for well-nuanced policy decisions targeted at price stability to forestall stifling economic activities and derailing output performance.

“Of more concern is the rising inflationary trend despite sustained hikes in the monetary policy rate with forecasts of further price increases in the near term.

“Both food and core inflation rose in February 2024, underpinning acceleration in headline inflation to 31.70 per cent in February 2024 from 29.90 per cent in the previous month.

“This continued rise in inflation was mainly due to high production costs, lingering security challenges and exchange rate pressures,” he said.

He added that the country’s inflation soared to 33.22 per cent in March, which is unacceptably high and requires coordinated efforts to curb.

“Inflation is currently unacceptably high and requires decisive and coordinated efforts to curb it, given its adverse impact on citizens’ purchasing power, investment decisions and broad output performance.

“The Federal Government’s initiatives addressing food insecurity, such as releasing grains from the strategic reserves, distributing seeds and fertilizers, and supporting dry season farming, are important and commendable,” he added.

Recall that the MPC raised the country’s interest rate to 24.75 per cent in March.

Commuters in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, and other cities across the country have bemoaned the hike in transportation fares owing to the current fuel scarcity.

DAILY POST reports that queues have worsened in many filling stations across the country, with Abuja as one of the worst hit areas.

While some motorists were lucky to get fuel at some retail outlets for between N700 and N,1200 per litre after hours of squabbles, others were not so lucky as many retail outlets were shut, with their excuses being supply challenges.

Findings by DAILY POST revealed that the snake-like queues at a few filling stations in Abuja have worsened the traffic situation in the nation’s capital and its outskirts as the long queues spilt on major roads, hindering movements, just as thousands of people were stranded at bus stops with transport fares as high as double the former amounts.

Although many outlets owned by independent oil marketers remained shut, DAILY POST gathered that NNPC retail outlets sell petrol at N617 per litre.

Some motorists told DAILY POST that they had to painstakingly endure the unending queues and jostling for sometimes six hours.

DAILY POST gathered that the shortage of the premium product saw the black marketers selling the petrol for as high as N1,200 per litre in some areas of the FCT and its outskirts.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, has threatened to embark on mass action if the Federal Government failed to take immediate steps to address the current fuel scarcity in the country.

The association’s Senate President, Babatunde Akinteye, in a statement on Monday, lamented that the fuel scarcity has left many citizens, including students, frustrated and helpless.

He added, “The consequences of this fuel crisis are dire, with electricity supply remaining unreliable, prices soaring, and essential services paralyzed. Nigerian students, along with the rest of the population, are bearing the brunt of this crisis daily.

“We demand immediate actions from the NNPCL to resolve the fuel crisis and restore stability to our nation.”

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s ‘The Morning Brief breakfast programme’ on Monday, monitored by DAILY POST, the National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, PETROAN, Billy Gillis-Harry, blamed the fuel scarcity across the country on a supply challenge from NNPC Limited.

Mr Gillis-Harry, who explained that the supply challenge has not been resolved, however, acknowledged the efforts by NNPC Ltd to solve the problem.

He said NNPC has its own outlets that they also serve.

“So if they have some logistics issues, that will possibly be what is internal to NNPC. But as for us, PETROAN members, we can tell Nigerians for real that if we have petroleum products delivered to us, supplied to us upon payment for those same products, we will supply them to Nigerians.

“I would like to correct Nigerians that we, retail outlet owners or marketers as they generally call all of us, are not the reason for this. We do not have any reason not to serve the public and we are willing to serve the public.

“All that is required is for us to have petroleum products delivered to us from NNPC and we will make sure that our retail outlets are open, some of them are even open for 24 hours. The challenge of logistics is only relevant to the NNPC retail outlets,” he said.

Findings by DAILY POST indicate that as at Monday, transportation fare from Masaka, Ado, Mararaba, all in Nasarawa state, outskirts of Abuja that used to be 500 before is now N800.

Also, from Jikwoyi, Karu and Nyanya now cost N800 as against N500 and N600 respectively.

Similarly, from Lugbe, Airport Road which was N400 is now N500-N600.

Speaking to DAILY POST, some commuters expressed their frustration, calling on the authorities to intervene without delay.

A commuter, Gabriel Olotu, expressed his grievances while waiting under the bridge in Mararaba for close to two hours trying to get a cab or bus to Wuse/Berger.

“I have been standing here for almost two hours trying to get a taxi to work but I have not been able to get any.

“I hate to resume office late so I wake up and prepare myself for work on time. Unfortunately today, I have been here since 7:30 am. It is almost 10 am already,” he lamented.

Another commuter, who simply gave her name as Agnes, said she paid higher than what she used to pay on transport fare.

She said, ”Already, the money I had with me cannot get me lunch at work, on getting to the road, the transportation fare is now doubled.

”This means the limited money I have will be affected again, which boils down to the fact that what we are going through is unbearable.”

On her part, Mrs Aisha Mohammed said she will have to trek from the junction where she will be dropped to her house because the money meant for motorbikes has been spent on plying the main road.

She begged that the situation be put under control soon because it won’t be easy for people to get to where they earn their living.

A driver, Sunday Adah, who had been waiting in one of the queues, described the situation as horrific and blamed the government for being insensitive to the plight of Nigerians.

“This government is wicked and always bent on making us suffer. I do not understand if they enjoy seeing us suffer.

“I have been in this queue for more than four hours and I have not been able to get fuel.

“I know how much I would have made already but for the time that I have spent here. I do not know what the problem is again.

“They said fuel subsidy, now they have removed fuel subsidy and made us buy the fuel at outrageous rates, yet we cannot even buy with ease,” he said.

President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio, has assured Nigerian workers that the National Assembly and the Executive arm of government would work collaboratively to give them a living wage and better working conditions.

The Senate President gave the assurance in a statement through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Hon. Eseme Eyiboh to congratulate the workers as they commemorate the 2024 May Day.

Akpabio extolled the sterling qualities that stood out the Nigerian worker saying “A Nigerian worker is noted for his patriotism, hard work, resilience, and dedication to duty.

“I am happy to be associated with the Nigerian worker in the last more than 25 years and I can attest to the fact that everywhere you go, the Nigerian worker’s spirit resonates profoundly”.

Speaking on this year’s theme for Workers Day, “Ensuring safety and health at work in a changing climate,” Akpabio promised that the National Assembly under his leadership was more than committed to ensuring the best working conditions for the Nigerian worker adding that, “No Nigerian worker will again be allowed to work under inhuman conditions. We will do everything to give you the best because you deserve the best”

The Senate President reiterated that the theme for this year’s celebration was apt and in tune with the international best practices assuring that Nigeria will never be left behind.

According to him, the 10th National Assembly was fully committed to providing the required legislative enablement aimed at protecting the interest of the Nigerian worker, creating a befitting workplace environment and a pay that takes them home.

“On behalf of the Senate and the entire National Assembly and indeed, my family, I wish to join the world in wishing the Nigerian worker a happy International Labour Day.

“We are celebrating patriotism, hard work, commitment and dedication. And I want to assure you that your sacrifices can never go in vain. The tough times will never last forever and in fact, they will soon be over,” he said.

As Nigeria joined the rest of the world to mark International Workers’ Day, IWD, the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, say life has been miserable for Nigerians and workers under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

In separate statements by the Head of Information and Public Affairs of NLC, Benson Upah and TUC President Festus Osifo they bemoaned the economic hardship workers and other Nigerians are grappling with due to high inflation, foreign exchange crisis, food inflation and energy crisis.

Upah said life has worsened considerably under Tinubu’s government.

He said fuel subsidy removal, the Naira continued crisis at the foreign exchange market, and electricity tariff hike are policies by the Tinubu government fueling the economic hardship on Nigerians and workers.

The spokesperson for the NLC urged President Tinubu to rethink some of his policies for a better life for Nigerian Workers.

“Life has worsened considerably. In fact, the most painful aspect of it is that there is no silver lining in the sky yet. When workers were trying to get used to this ugly situation, the government slammed them with a new energy tariff of 250 per cent, and on the other side, for the workers, nothing has changed.

“So, life has been very terrible for workers in the past year. We wish it could be better.

“To go to specifics: the ill-advised removal of fuel subsidy, the floating of the Naira, and the hike in the tariff of electricity; these three major policies have considerably reduced the value of the Naira.

“Inflation at the moment is 33.2 per cent, and food inflation is a minimum of 40 per cent. The devaluation of the Naira. After these policy announcements. The value of the Naira decreased by about 200 per cent, and after a while, Nigerians started hoping that the Naira would regain its strength and stability. There were other storms.

“Ou we suspect that these policies are dictated from outside this country, and they are not good for the health of this country or for the people of this country, and we advise Mr President to retrace his steps.

“Our message is that workers should not be broken; they should remain strong and be guided by the philosophy of the bedbug that this hot water that they are pouring on us will one day grow cold,” the NLC said.

Meanwhile, the President of the TUC, Osifo, has called on the federal and state governments to prioritise workers’ welfare.

Osifo, who spoke at the Pre-May Day Lecture held in Abuja on Wednesday, said there is a need to put the welfare and interest of the people first in driving any government policy.

Represented at the event by the Deputy President of TUC, Comrade Eitm Okon, Osifo said the theme of the 2024 May Day celebration, which is titled: “Workers First”, is very significant because there is a need to put the people first and to put the workers first in every government policy.

“Today marks another turning point in the history of the trade union movement in this country.

“When we look at the theme of the 2024 Worker’sayWorker’s celebration, which is People First, that is very significant because we need to put the people first, we need to put the workers first, and when you put the people first, you put your family first. This is what is called the first line charge.

“Today, we have experienced various policy mismatches and summersaults where people’s welfare is put at the bottom of the radar.

“A case in point was the increase in electricity tariff without following due process and without consultation with various stakeholders who would have been involved in taking critical decisions that affect the lives of workers,” he lamented.

Deputy governor of Financial System Stability of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Philip Ikeazor, has said that the rise in non-performing loans in the Nigerian banking industry is alarming.

Personal statements of the Monetary Policy Committee Members, released on CBN’s website on Tuesday, show that NPL in the industry has risen by 0.3 per cent to 4.5 per cent, a situation Ikeazor said gives backing to the recapitalization move by the apex bank.

In his statement at the last MPC meeting held in March, Ikeazor raised the concern by stating that the banking sector has remained resilient, with most financial soundness indicators within their regulatory thresholds.

“Despite this, the moderate increase in NPLs and the slight decline in CAR reinforces the importance of recapitalizing the banking system.

“The imbalance between the exposure of the oil and manufacturing sectors and their poor contribution to growth is problematic, even as non-performing loans (NPLs) continue to rise.

“Considering their vulnerability to rate hikes, consecutive aggressive tightening will further depress the economy.

“The pressure point is already manifesting as indicated in the projected contraction of PMI in the industrial sector by 7.1 index points occasioned by rising input cost and low-capacity utilization,” he pointed out.

Another member of the Monetary Policy Committee(MPC), former director general of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Lamido Abubakar Yuguda, noted the rise in NPL. However, he said it is still within the prudential threshold of five per cent.

To him, “the banking sector has remained safe and sound with the key indicators within the prudential benchmarks.

“The CAR was above the 10 per cent mark in February. The non-performing loans (NPLs) ratio at 4.5 per cent was up marginally by 0.3 percentage points compared to January 2024 but remained below the prudential benchmark of 5.0 per cent.

“The Industry Liquidity Ratio (LR) was 42.7 per cent, exceeding the minimum regulatory requirement of 30.0 per cent and was higher than the 42.1 per cent recorded in the previous month.”

Recall that on April 2, the apex bank raised the minimum capital requirement for all banks in Nigeria.

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has denounced what he said is President Bola Tinubu’s tendency to increase tariff, which he said does not correspond with what Nigerians are getting.

Atiku stated this on Tuesday to mark Workers’ Day celebration on May 1.

A statement from the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) noted that the president is subsidising corruption and living in affluence while impoverishing the masses.

Atiku said as Nigerian workers join their counterparts across the world to celebrate International Workers Day, “it is a sobering truth that the plight of the Nigerian worker remains dire.”

He lamented that despite prolonged pledges and flowery words by the government, the much talked-about prospects of wage increment for the Nigerian worker remains a mirage.

The former veepee pointed out that every dawn unveils renewed hardships and harsh living conditions in the current administration.

According to Atiku, “The continued increase in tariffs in different service offerings without addressing the corruption and inefficiencies in the system only amounts to long-suffering Nigerians subsidising the corruption and inefficiencies in the system.”

He noted that since the days of legendary, Pa. Michael Imoudu, to later day fire brands such as Pascal Bafyau and Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the Nigerian worker has been at the forefront of the fight against tyranny and bad governance.

He emphasised that no administration in Nigerian “history has trampled workers’ rights like this one. Daily, workers face uncertainty over skyrocketing prices of essential goods.

“The Nigerian worker has had it so rough under this current administration and it is unfortunate that while the living conditions of the Nigerian worker remains at a miserably low ebb, the Nigerian government continues to regale its international audiences with tales of how the masses are being weaned of their wasteful dependence on government.

“It is thus beginning to appear, that as far as the current federal government is concerned, the management of our country’s micro-economic outlook is an unwieldy laboratory experiment, to which the Nigerian worker is laid prostrate.

“While I cannot but share my sympathy with the Nigerian worker for the way the current government has ridiculed her for far too long, I must equally express my felicitations with the Nigerian worker on this year’s Workers Day.

“It is my hope that the theme of this year’s Labour Day: Ensuring Safety and Health at Work In a Changing Climate, will inspire the Nigerian government to put the concerns of the Nigerian Worker on the front burner,” Atiku stated.

Former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Prof. Kingsley Moghalu has urged the federal government to privatise the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to raise about $20 to $30 billion to jumpstart the economy.

Moghalu, in a series of tweets on his X handle, also asked the Yemi Cardoso-led management of the apex bank to focus on price stability rather than seeking to do what he described as falsely strengthening of the naira against the dollar.
Moghalu said the Naira tanking back down to the N1,400 to $1 demonstrated what some people had been saying.

“Seeking a ‘falsely strong’ currency when the fundamentals are out of whack is shadow chasing. The focus should be on the stability of the exchange rate, not a populist exchange rate and premature declarations of ‘best performing currency’.

“Privatise @nnpclimited and raise at $20-$30 billion from an IPO. Or go for a “whale” of a $20-30 billion bailout from @IMFNews (nothing less), with forensic oversight of the money and how it is spent,” he said.

Moghalu stated that the federal government needs the new money to reposition the economy, adding “all these trickle-down” borrowing of $1 billion, $2 billion won’t hack it”.

Reacting to the steady fall of the naira to about N1,400/$ after it had hit a seven-month high of N1,000/$ barely two weeks ago, Moghalu, in a series of tweets on X on Monday, stated that “the focus should be on the stability of the exchange rate, not a populist exchange rate”.

“Reports that there are now multiple exchange rates to BDCs, Customs, and NAFEX are also worrying,” he added.

The political economist said the reports that there are now multiple exchange rates to BDCs, Customs, and NAFEX are worrying to the extent that they create more problems for the economy. “It’s not yet uhuru. Let us stabilise the Naira at whatever is its true market value and then pivot to the real issues: taking Nigeria to 20-25K megawatts of 24 hour electricity in 2-3 years starting with Lagos, Kano, Onitsha and Nnewi (Aba seems promising with Geometric power) so we can create a truly productive economy. Dealing decisively with oil theft and ramping up oil production to bring in dollars soonest. 

“Privatise @nnpclimited and raise at $20-$30 billion from an IPO. Or go for a “whale” of a $20-30 billion bailout from @IMFNews (nothing less), with forensic oversight of the money and how it is spent. All these “trickle down” borrowing of $1 billion, $2 billion there won’t hack it.
“We need to get serious. Managing an economy is not politics or a clap-and dance performance theatre. It’s serious business. I recently briefed global institutional investors with a combined $15 trillion in assets under management 2024 SpringMeeting2024 Washington DC at their request.
“Confidence in Nigeria’s economic reforms, in terms of serious portfolio inflows, remains tentative. These reversals won’t help,” he said in a series of tweets on X.com yesterday.

Nigeria’s minister of solid minerals development, Dr. Oladele Alake on Monday disclosed that the country had a solid mineral wealth worth in excess of $750bn, according to a survey report by a German firm, GeoScan.

He, however, hinted that Nigeria was likely to have much more than the figure when the reports of other surveys from other reputable global firms are received.

The minister made this comment at a two-day Stakeholders’ Roundtable on Solid Minerals Development jointly organised by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) and Bruit Costaud in Abuja Monday Nigeria.

Alake said the mining sector had the potential to contribute a large chunk of the wealth necessary to turn Nigeria into a trillion-dollar economy which is a major goal of the Tinubu administration.

He stated that the availability of data is important to attract investors to Nigeria as it would help them make informed investment decisions, adding that bringing them to site their processing plants in Nigerian will have the multiplier effect of job and wealth creation for the citizens on the one hand and the growth of the country’s economy.

“We are working with the World Bank, Excalibur and GeoScan, a German company, to get the necessary data on the sector. That is why the federal government signed a memorandum of understanding with Geoscan and they did a preliminary survey of our minerals on the output and potential. They gave us a figure of $750 billion worth of minerals embedded under the ground of Nigeria.” 

“That is a conservative estimate, by the time we conduct a serious, accurate data exploration, we will discover that we have trillions of solid minerals embedded under. So, the president’s projection of a one-dollar economy is not a fluke. By the time we are done with all of these efforts, input and policies we are putting in place, trillions of naira will be a child’s play and we will be nudging trillions of dollars.” 

Alake further stated that the president has given the ministry the mandate to re-organise the sector from exploration to production and processing with the ultimate objective of making it a key contributor to the national economy.

“Nigeria is prime to become the new global mining destination and together we will make this vision a reality,” he said, adding that as the foremost government think-tank, the stakeholders’ roundtable will enrich NIPSS’ analysis of the sector and the recommendations from the summit will no doubt point to the steps to be taken to enable the sector deliver on its mandate.

He reiterated his resolute stance on local value addition in products mined in the country and highlighted that through his advocacy and leadership of African ministers of solid minerals, all the other African countries had adopted the same policy of value addition.

The minister added that part of his seven-point agenda of reform is the formation of a mining police, which has been launched and already arresting illegal operators across Nigeria, and the establishment of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation.

“When I first said this, a lot of people were taken aback and sceptical because what rang in their mind was NNPC, that is, we are going to establish something similar like NNPC, which is a quasi-government venture. But no, the proposed corporation is vastly different in nomenclature, structure and operation,” he said, assuring that it will be private sector-led.

“We are proposing 50 per cent of the equity entirely to the private sector, 25 per cent to Nigerians in general and 25 per cent to the government,” he explained.

On his part, the governor of Nasarawa State, Abullali Sule, said that lithium is the new gold and that Nigeria has it in great abundance.

He further stated that his administration had set up the biggest lithium processing factory in Nigeria and that it will soon be processing 4,000 metric tonnes a day and transporting over a million tonnes of lithium a year.

NIPSS director-general of NIPSS, Ayo Omotaya, in his speech said the summit was organised to bring together the various stakeholders in order to propose solutions to challenges confronting the mining industry.

In an earlier interaction with journalists, he gave assurance that the two-day event will not be just another academic exercise but that decisions reached will be useful to the cause of turning the mining sector into Nigeria’s major earner in the near future.

The House of Representatives on Tuesday directed the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to halt the rollout of the new electricity tariff.

The decision was reached after the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance, spearheaded by Nkemkanma Kama, a lawmaker from the Labour Party (LP) representing Ebonyi state.

Recall that on April 3, NERC approved an increase in electricity tariffs for customers belonging to Band A, which led to legislative action.

Customers in this category, who receive 20 hours of electricity per day, were supposed to start paying N225 per kilowatt (kW), a significant increase from the previous tariff of N66.

Meanwhile, yesterday, during a hearing at the Senate Committee on Power, Adebayo Adelabu, Minister of Power, defended the tariff hike by stating that the Federal Government could no longer afford to provide subsidies on power.

He said for the sector to be revived, the government needs to spend about $10 billion annually in the next 10 years.

“This is because of the infrastructure requirement for the stability of the sector, but the government cannot afford that,” the minister had said.

Adelabu has stated that the electricity sector is attracting more investors due to the increase in electricity tariff for Band A customers.