The Presidency on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of President Bola Tinubu delivering an address at the joint sitting of the National Assembly to commemorate 25 years of nation’s democratic rule scheduled for Wednesday in Abuja.

In a statement issued by presidential spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, the Presidency stated that office of the President was never involved in the planning of the event, hence no green light was given for the President to speak at the planned programme.

It, however, stressed that President Tinubu will continue to inaugurate projects across the country as part of his commitment to delivering good governance to the citizenry.

The Presidency in the three-paragraph release stated: “In furtherance of his commitment to delivering good governance, President Bola Tinubu has embarked on the inauguration of strategic projects across the country.

“More transformative projects will be inaugurated by President Tinubu’s administration for the benefit of all Nigerians.

“In view of public commentary concerning the President delivering a speech before a Joint Sitting of the National Assembly tomorrow, May 29, 2024, it is important to state that this information is false and unauthorized as the Office of the President was not involved in the planning of the event”.

The Tripartite committee on minimum wage has postponed its meeting “sine die”, sources familiar with the matter told our correspondent in Abuja on Tuesday.

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, sine die means a situation, “without any future date being designated (as for resumption): indefinitely.”
Legal choices, a law website also describes sine die as a Latin word used when a law case has no fixed date for resumption.

The Federal Government on Tuesday added a sum of N3,000 to its initially proposed N57,000 minimum wage making it the sum of N60,000 proposed on Tuesday during the meeting of the tripartite committee on minimum wage in Abuja.

Organized Labour comprising of the Trade Union Congress and the Nigeria Labour Congress also went down by N3,000 from its last proposal of N497,000 during the last minimum wage meeting.

Speaking with our correspondent, one of the sources who is a leader of the NLC said, “The meeting ended in a stalemate and meetings have been adjourned sine die.

The government proposed N60,000 which was not accepted by Labour.”

A member of the Labour side who spoke to our correspondent before the meeting started noted that the organized Labour would only go lower if the government goes higher on its demands.

Speaking with our correspondent, one of the sources who is a leader of the NLC said, “The meeting ended in a stalemate and meetings have been adjourned sine die.

“The government proposed N60,000 which was not accepted by Labour.”

A member of the Labour side who spoke to our correspondent before the meeting started noted that the organized Labour would only go lower if the government goes higher on its demands.


“This is simply a case of if they go higher, we will go lower. They need to propose something reasonable for us to propose something lower too. There is no two-way about it. Also, we have a way of meeting ourselves as members of the Labour before each committee meeting. This will help us to take a uniform stand by the time we get to the meeting front. So as long as the government is ready to present something reasonable, we will meet them in the middle,” the Labour leader said.

Indications emerged yesterday that the Federal Government and organised labour are heading for a showdown over a new minimum wage as the 6th meeting of the Tripartite Committee on the new National Minimum Wage, NNMW, ended in another stalemate. 

Organised labour’s negotiating team for the second time in two weeks, however, walked out of the committee meeting after the Federal Government increased its offer to N60,000 from the N57,000 it offered on Wednesday, May 22.

Organised Labour, represented by the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and its Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, counterpart, had on May 15, walked out of the tripartite committee meeting after the government offered N48,000 and Organised Private Sector, OPS, offered N54,000, against the N615,000 minimum wage demand by labour.

It will be recalled that at last week’s meeting, the government and the private sector offered N57,000, while Labour reduced its demand from N615, 000 to N497, 000.

However, at the resumed meeting yesterday, the government and the OPS added N3,000 to last week’s offers of N57,000, thereby raising their offers to N60, 000.

Labour immediately followed the footsteps of the government and OPS to reduce its demand by N3,000, bringing it down to N494, 000 before walking out.

Labour had given government up till May 31, to conclude negotiations to avoid industrial disharmony.
Confirming the development, President of NLC, Joe Ajaero, told Vanguard yesterday: “The government is not serious with the negotiation. They just added N3, 000 to their offer last week.

The painful aspect of it is that the government team is not giving explanation to its offer. We equally removed N3,000 from our demand and left.”

Pending ultimatum

On the next line of action, the NLC president said: “We have an ultimatum pending on the minimum wage and electricity tariff. We are waiting for the ultimatum, including the government. 

“There are still days remaining before the ultimatum expires. Well, it is part of negotiation. Nonetheless, like I said, the government team is not serious. On our part, we know what to do when the ultimatum expires.”

Giving more insight into what transpired at yesterday’s stalemated meeting, a source at the meeting said: “We walked out again. They (the Federal Government) added N3,000. We reduced by N3,000.
“We anticipated what they are doing, we anticipated that they will come up with another gimmick because we have been telling them, break down what you are giving as an award, break it down the way we broke our own down.

“Housing, food transportation, health, education and others but they have refused consistently. This is because if they break it down, are they going to now say food is N100?

“For you to put everything under N57,000 or N60,000 as it is now per month, you cannot put food per day at N200. If you put food per day at N200, that will be N6,000 multiply by four, that should be N24,000. What is left now is N36, 000.

“You cannot say transport is N50 because once they commit themselves to it, they are now telling Nigerian workers that what we are giving you for transport is N50 in a day, what we are giving you for housing is so, so and so. That might put them in a very tight corner. They cannot break it down.
“We are telling them that what they gave us in 2019 was N30,000. At that time, the value of N30,000 was $84.

“When we got to the meeting today (yesterday), they increased from N57,000 to N60,000, then the organised private sector aligned with them. We did not want them to adjourn because we are heading for strike from the first of next month (June).I do not think they can reconvene before that time. That is where we are.”

On the mood of government team when it was making the offer, the source said: “The government side is not even in a good mood. Members know that they are in a very difficult situation. At the last meeting, we told them they are not government and that they should not make it appear as if they are government.

“They are only representatives of government. Today (yesterday), when we were discussing with them, we said a loaf of bread is now N2,000. So, even if somebody is eating bread every day, how much would it cost in a month?”

The source said the government team, as usual, pushed the Minister of State for Labour, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, to announce the N60,000 offer in the presence of the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Budget.

‘’The Head of Service was represented by a Permanent Secretary in the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Office. 

He said: “The governors were not represented at today’s (yesterday) meeting again. They are running away. What we have observed is that the governors don’t want to get involved because they do not want to pay.

“For me, what is happening is a new development because they are trying to tell us why government will not be able to pay and the private sector is telling us how their productivity has been eroded and how so many of them have closed down.

‘’If we follow this very well, it changes the approach to governance. That is a situation where you don’t carry many people along.”

Labour’s demand may endanger job security — OPS

On his part, the spokesperson of OPS, and Director-General of Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, NECA, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, insisted that the major concern of members of the OPS was job security, pending when the economy improves.

He said: “It is important to note that what the committee was constituted to negotiate is a new national minimum wage and not maximum, that could be termed the “floor” wage, below which no employer should pay. 

“Employees should be able to navigate their paths toward higher wages through increased productivity and value addition.

“In the last three years, hundreds of companies have exited the country, shut down or changed business models. These companies include Jubilee Syringe Manufacturing, JSM, Procter & Gamble, Unilever Nigeria Plc, PZ Nigeria Plc, GSK Nigeria Plc, Sanofi Pharmaceuticals, Bolt Food, Nampak, Microsoft, Jumia Food, Equinor (oil & gas), Mayor Biscuits Company Limited, Greif Nigeria, among others, with many other multinational companies declaring over N1trillion in combined losses.

“According to the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, about 767 manufacturing companies were shut down and over 335 experienced distress in the country in the last three years.

‘’In addition to this is a burgeoning N350 billion worth of unsold inventory of manufactured goods, of which the same fate is faced by Small and Medium Scale industries, SMEs. The private sector is on the precipice of collapse, with massive consequences for jobs.”

He pleaded with the “committee to refocus its effort on protecting jobs, boosting the capacity of the private sector to create more jobs and ensuring sustainability and ability to pay. 

“According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the combined rate of unemployment and time-related underemployment as a share of the labour force population (LU2) increased to 17.3 per cent in Q3 2023 from 15.5 per cent in Q2 2023.

“In specific terms, the unemployment rate increased significantly in Q3 2023 at 5.0 per cent. With these figures, more efforts should be concentrated on keeping more people in employment, while the government continues to implement its planned interventions in transportation, food security and general macro-economic stability.

“With organized businesses declaring over N1 trillion in combined losses and many shutting down their businesses for different reasons, while others are relocating to other climes, the ability to pay the prevailing N30,000 was already compromised.

“It will be practically impossible to guarantee enterprise sustainability and job security with the current demands of organized labour.

“Notwithstanding ongoing challenges, made worse by rising interest rates, astronomical logistics cost, increasing energy tariff and multiple taxes, levies and fees, the private sector remained committed to supporting the welfare of workers and the protection of their jobs, which can only be guaranteed by the survival of the enterprise.’’

Meanwhile, a member of OPS, however, informed Vanguard that the meeting was adjourned after yesterday ‘s deliberation, saying the labour negotiating team said members were going for consultations.

‘’So, the meeting was adjourned,’’ he said.

On when the meeting would reconvene, he said: “Only the secretariat of the committee can fix a date for the meeting. That has been the practice; it will inform us when to reconvene.”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar, has said the paucity of funds is responsible for the delay in appointing ambassadors for Nigeria.

The minister who disclosed this during the ministerial sectoral briefing on Tuesday in Abuja, said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration was facing a significant financial and economic challenge.

President Tinubu had on September 2, 2023, recalled all career and non-career ambassadors operating the country’s diplomatic missions, embassies and consulates globally.

Nigeria has 109 missions, 76 embassies, 22 high commissions and 11 consulates globally.

The lack of ambassadors has raised concerns about Nigeria’s diplomatic representation and the effectiveness of its foreign missions.

However, the Minister said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not been receiving the necessary funding to operate effectively.

He noted that it was pointless to appoint ambassadors without the financial resources to support their travel and the effective running of missions abroad.

“We met a situation where Foreign Affairs was not being funded like the way it should be. It is a money problem. There is no point sending out ambassadors if you do not have the funds for them to even travel to their designated country and to run the missions effectively, one needs funding,” he said.

Despite these hurdles, Tuggar assured that the government was addressing the issue.
“Mr. President is working on it and it will be done in due course,” he said.

ONE YEAR OF TINUBU ADMINISTRATION: EX-PRESIDENT BUHARI CONVEYS GOOD WISHES TO PRESIDENT.

Former President Muhammadu Buhari extends his best wishes to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the completion of his first year in office.

The former President appealed to all citizens to continue to strengthen the thread of national unity and goodwill.

He also appealed to them to give their blessings and support to the Tinubu administration so that it can succeed in its efforts to build a Nigeria of our dreams.

President Buhari expressed his wish for a successful tenure in office by the Tinubu administration.

Signed:
Garba Shehu.
28-5-24.

A federal high court in Kano has ordered the removal of Muhammad Sanusi II from the official residence of the Emir of Kano.

S.A. Amobeda, the presiding judge, granted an ex parte motion filed by Aminu Ado Bayero, the dethroned Emir of Kano, and the applicant.

The order comes hours after a state high court restrained Bayero from parading himself as the Emir of Kano.

In the suit marked FHC/KN//CS/190/2024, seen by TheCable on Tuesday, Amobeda ordered Kayode Egbetokun, inspector-general of police (IGP), and Hussain Gumel, Kano commissioner of police, to ensure that all rights and privileges of an Emir are given Ado Bayero.

“An order restraining the 3rd, 4th, and 5th respondents and all other respondents from denying the applicant to use his official residence and palace at the Emir’s Palace, Kofar Kudu, as well as enjoyment of all rights and privileges accrued to him by virtue of being Emir of Kano State, and to evicting anybody residing within the palace illegally pending the hearing and the determination of the originating summons,” the temporary injunction reads.

The judge also restrained the security agencies from arresting Bayero pending the determination of the suit he filed.

The matter was adjourned until June 4 for a hearing.

Meanwhile, Amina Adamu Aliyu of Kano high court has restrained the police and other security agencies from evicting Sanusi.

THE BATTLE

Trouble began when Sanusi was reinstated as Emir on Friday by Abba Yusuf, governor of Kano.

Sanusi’s reinstatement followed the repeal of the law that Abdullahi Ganduje, the former governor of Kano, used to depose and exile him in 2020.

On May 23, a federal high court in Kano ordered the state government not to enforce the Emirate Council Repeal Law 2024.

Bayero returned to Kano from a trip to Ogun on Saturday and moved into a palace in Nassarawa LGA.

But the Kano governor ordered Bayero’s arrest “for creating tension in the state”.

Wale Edun, minister of finance, says economic instability forced 800 companies to shut down operations.

Edun made this known on Tuesday in Abuja during the sectoral report of President Bola Tinubu’s one year in office.

The minister said the departure of these companies was not sudden.

He said issues such as market instability, unfulfilled promises, and contract breaches drove them away, but these issues have now been resolved.

“Government did inherit an unstable economy,” Edun said.

“The 800 companies or so did not make up their minds overnight. They stayed until they could stay no more.

“The conditions which sent them packing are no more. Those conditions were a foreign exchange market that was in no way fit for purpose.

“There was no liquidity. They were a general economic regime marked by instability, broken promises, lack of adherence to contracts.”

Edun said the new environment for investors involves tackling inflation, which will eventually result in lower interest rates.

This, he said, will allow investors to leverage the dynamic domestic markets to enhance their equity and invest.

On March 6, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) said 767 manufacturers shut down operations, while 335 became distressed, in 2023.

The Apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has stated that the first year of President Bola Tinubu’s administration can be described as a period of progress and development.

The group claimed that during the administration of former president, Muhammadu Buhari, the South-East region faced deliberate economic suppression, leading to strife and insecurity.

They, however, noted that Tinubu’s regime has fostered hope in the southeast.

Speaking further, Ohanaeze stated that the Minister of Works, David Umahi, is the best performing Minister in the Federal Executive Council.

They also commended two others, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, and Presidential aide, Bayo Onanuga, for being the pillars of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Ohanaeze’s factional secretary-general, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, said that despite inherited challenges such as a retrogressive economy, treasury looting, and infrastructural decay, Tinubu has demonstrated the political will to overcome these obstacles more effectively than in the previous eight years of Buhari.

The statement reads in part: “During Buhari’s tenure, the South-East region faced deliberate economic suppression, leading to strife and insecurity. In contrast, President Tinubu’s administration has fostered hope and progress in the South East through initiatives like the ongoing road reconstruction and rehabilitation projects led by Engr. David Umahi and fostering economic activity and inclusivity.

“Ohanaeze Ndigbo unequivocally declares Engr. David Umahi the Best Performing Minister in the Federal Executive Council due to his diligence, dedication, and innovative ideas that have reshaped the region’s narrative.

“The organisation also commends Minister Nyesom Wike for his visionary leadership, Minister Tunji-Ojo for his reformative efforts, and Presidential aide Bayo Ononuga for his invaluable contribution to promoting President Tinubu’s vision.

“As the administration addresses challenges like insecurity and economic issues in the South East, Ohanaeze Ndigbo calls on President Tinubu to halt property demolitions in Lagos, release Nnamdi Kanu, enhance trade policies, and reopen the Calabar seaport to stimulate economic growth further.

“The organisation also advocates for the removal of underperforming ministers to drive progress and efficiency. Ohanaeze Ndigbo affirms its commitment to partnering with the government and urges opposition leaders to join hands with President Tinubu to rebuild the nation for prosperity and progress.”

Dele Momodu, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has called on President Bola Tinubu to bring in capable individuals who can help address the nation’s challenges into his cabinet.

Speaking with journalists on Tuesday in Lagos, Momodu acknowledged the difficult times many Nigerians have faced over the past year and urged Tinubu to invite people with fresh ideas to help turn things around.

According to Momodu, the President needs to do more to meet citizens’ expectations, stressing that Nigeria is blessed with some of the greatest human beings scattered across the globe.

He advised Tinubu to find and bring these individuals into the government.

“The best way to get a second term by any leader is when you have performed in the first term,” Momodu said, adding “My honest advice, borne out of patriotism, is that you urgently get the best people on board.”

The publisher further urged the president to surround himself with people who would provide honest feedback, warning against the culture of sycophancy which he described as an albatross to good governance.

Momodu also called on Tinubu to solve the energy crisis in the country which he believes is crucial for propelling development, stating: “Until we solve the energy crisis, I don’t think we will be ready to join the comity of other nations in their march towards advancement.

“We also need to declare a state of emergency in infrastructure, education, food security, and overall security.”

… More Needs To Be Done To Achieve Monetary Policy Target- Muda Yusuf

Muhammed, a civil servant at the Ministry of Agriculture almost lost his temper after buying 25 pieces of pepper for N1000 after the sellers refused to sell N500 tomato to him.

Dona who sells auto spareparts in Gudu market, Abuja has been frustrated by exchange rate depreciation. The importer has struggled with his spareparts business since the naira fell to over N1,700 per dollar in February 2024.

These testimonies explain how the ‘Renewed Hope’ monetary policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria has failed to bring down inflation and stabilize the naira despite several policy initiatives.

The Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration inherited a central bank that applied an unorthodox monetary policy approach in the discharge of its mandate.

In his ‘Renewed Hope’ Manifesto released months before the 2023 presidential election, Tinubu told supporters that monetary policy must focus on the exchange rate, interest rate and price levels.

For him, the trio must serve the objective of fiscal policy, which is broadly shared prosperity.

Tinubu’s Promise To Stabilise Exchange Rate And Deal With Inflation

In order to undo the mistakes of the past government, Tinubu in his Renewed Hope Agenda highlighted some of the issues leading to the depreciation of the naira including, low crude oil production and the multiple exchange rate windows which gave rise to financial dislocation, currency speculation and arbitrage.

“To ensure that exchange rate policy harmonises with our goals of optimal growth and job creation driven by industrial, agricultural and infrastructural expansion, we will work with the Central Bank and the financial sector to carefully review and better optimise the exchange rate regime. Our economic policies shall be guided by our desire for a stronger, more stable Naira founded upon a vibrant and productive real economy,” part of the manifesto reads.

On tackling inflationary pressure, Tinubu said his team would assess the sources and causes of inflation and deploy the right mix of fiscal and monetary policy tools to contain it; instead of copying the policies and practices of economies from other countries.

The manifesto reads, “To impose the usual anti-inflation medicine of higher interest rates and tighter money-supply will only weaken the patient. The answer to supply-driven inflation is not to suppress normal aggregate demand levels. The better solution is to find ways to increase production and supply. To suppress demand will result in the overall loss of economic activity and jobs.

“Worse, since the inflation is grounded in supply-side issues, placing this weight on the demand side will do little to answer the root causes of current inflation. In short, we punish the national economy and the people without deriving any meaningful benefit.”

Naira Devalues By 221% While Inflation Rises To 33.6% One Year After

Two weeks after the administration took over, the CBN on June 14 introduced the ‘willing buyer, willing seller’ model and harmonized the different foreign exchange markets into the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) window.

Before the CBN took the decision, the naira was trading at an average of N460.72 in May. The currency moved to N589 on June 24, N770.88 in July, N783.17 in November 2023.

However, the CBN has achieved success in narrowing the gap between the official and black market rates. In May when the naira traded officially at N460.72, the black market rate was N780 effectively allowing speculators to enjoy an arbitrage of N319 per dollar.

As of May 24, 2024, the black market rate was N1,510 against N1,481.1 traded officially.

Inflation has constantly risen since the government assumed office in May last year. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) measured inflation at 24.41 per cent in May 2023 but surged to 33.6 per cent as of April 2024.

The Olayemi Cardoso-led CBN has consistently increased the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) to combat inflation.

The administration met MPR at 18.5 per cent but the CBN increased it to 22.75 per cent on July 25. At the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee in February 2024, the bank further raised MPR to 22.75 per cent; adjust the asymmetric corridor to+ I 00/-700 basis points around the MPR and raise the Cash Reserve Ratio from 32.5 per cent to 45.00 per cent.

In March, the MPR was raised to 24.75 per cent and in May, the bank also hiked the rate to 26.25 per cent.

This approach is in contrast with the manifesto that condemns increasing “interest rates and tighter money supply” as a “usual anti-inflation medicine.”

More Needs To Be Done To Achieve Monetary Policy Target- Muda Yusuf

Reacting to the development, the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprises, Muda Yusuf told THE WHISTLER that more needs to be done regarding the approach to monetary policy.

The CPPE boos said, “With respect to issues around interest rates, Customs Duties exchange rate and issues around the volatility in the foreign exchange market, I think the current administration needs to do a lot more in that area because you cannot have an exchange rate that should be swinging almost on daily basis. You can not also have a Customs Duties rate that is also changing almost on a daily basis.

“That is not good, and we should also define the limits of tightening monetary policy because interest rate is getting to a point that nobody can do business with bank funds. We are talking about 30-35 per cent interest rate.What business are you going to do with that. It is not a perfect situation, but I believe some progress has been made.”

However, the former Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry DG said that a lot has been achieved compared to past CBN regime led by Godwin Emefiele.

According to Yusuf, the CBN under the previous administration, had a “terribly dysfunctional” foreign exchange market where there was corruption, round-tripping, and a lot of opaqueness in the way that the market was managed.

Yusuf said, “From all the audit reports, we can see the kind of atrocities that were committed under that regime. Under the current dispensation, at least you have more transparency, you have a minimum round-tripping because the gap between the official and parallel market rate have narrowed significantly and the market is beginning to generate more revenue from government.

“We are seeing better governance and stakeholder engagement by the central bank. We are not seeing the kind of reckless use of ways and means financing that we had under Emefiele, which was a gross violation of the CBN Act.”