The Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo, on Wednesday, June 12, said governors and other elected officials should earn minimum wage to reflect the current reality of Nigeria. 

He stated that the country was facing a dire financial crisis.  

The governor spoke at a special edition of The Platform.

According to him, Nigeria’s economic woes are worsened by the extravagant lifestyles of government officials, which are sustained at the expense of the nation’s wealth. 

He said: “Let’s come clean and straight with Nigerians. Nigeria is very poor and broke but the lifestyle of government and government officials does not show it, especially with the obscene flamboyance in public display."

He continued: "The poor are hungry and impatient, let’s not annoy them more with our insensitivity. In this case, I agree with reverend father Mbaka, who said elected governors should also earn minimum wage. I agree that we should be paid that so that we can feel that as well. 

“In Anambra, I have not received a kobo as salary since I assumed office. I have donated my salary to the state. 

“It is symbolic. It is not much. I think generally, the system is in denial. There must be some signalling, it is just the symbolism of this.” 

Soludo urged his colleagues and other elected officials to cut wasteful spending. 

“That is why I proposed reinventing the new code of conduct for public officers. For the federal government, the actual projected revenue comes to about N6,160 per Nigerian, per month. 

“For the states, except Lagos and a few states, most states have revenues amounting to less than N3,000 per resident, per month. 

“It is from this shares per citizen that we are expected to provide all the infrastructure, debt service, pay salaries and pensions, build schools, and provide everything. 

“For each of our wasteful spending, let’s be conscious of how many citizens share that we are squandering. Once we lose this consciousness about the public trust we bear, the society dies irredeemably,” he said.

Armed robbers on Thursday evening stormed a bank complex in the Abaji Area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) killing a police man and shooting a security guard of the bank.

The incident occurred at about 6 pm on Thursday when the robbers alighted from a vehicle, shot sporadically at a police station located close to the bank.

After killing an officer, they made their way to the bank premises shooting sporadically.

While a guard was shot as he attempted to flee at the bank premises, the robbers attempted to break into the strong room of the bank but were unsuccessful.

The police reportedly mobilised and were joined by soldiers and vigilantes who engaged the robbers in a shootout killing two of the robbers in the process.

Angry residents reportedly seized one of the robbers and set him on fire, according to one of the residents who spoke to newsmen.

The FCT Police Command while confirming the incident said it has deployed operatives of the anti-robbery squad and local security operatives to trail the fleeing robbers.

Promises to send Executive Bill to N’Assembly

•Says fall at Eagle Square, is ’idobale’ for democracy

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru, ABUJA

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu on Wednesday night said that he would approve what is affordable as the new minimum wage, alerting the National Assembly to expect his memorandum on the final settlement.

President Tinubu, who spoke during the 25th Democracy Day Anniversary Dinner, at the Old Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja, said that the amount to be forwarded to the National Assembly would be such that Nigerians can afford it.

Recall that at the end of negotiations on Minimum Wage last week Friday, the Federal Government team alongside the Organised Private Sector, OPS, had slightly increased the offer to N62,000 from the initial N60,000, while the organized labour also reduced its demand from N494,000 to N250,000.

However, the last offer of N62,000 made by the government and the private sector and the demand of N250,000 by the labour are now before the President to perhaps harmonise and make the final approval and thereafter, send a bill to the National Assembly for enactment of law.

Speaking on the matter, President Tinubu told the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio alongside his other colleagues at the dinner that the government would do what was expected, but would also pay what it can afford.

He said: “Senate President, Deputy Senate President, you’ll get a notice from me. If I’ve changed my mind on minimum wage, we’re going to do it, what Nigeria can afford, what you can afford, what I can afford. They ask you to cut your coat according to your size, if you have size at all.”

President Tinubu also clarified the circumstances surrounding an incident earlier in the day at Eagle Square, where he tripped while making his way into the parade inspection vehicle.

He explained that as a traditional Yoruba ‘boy’ he was doing dobale (Yoruba word for prostrating to greet elders) at the Eagles Square, saying democracy was worth falling for.

According to him, “June 12 represents the heart and soul of our democratic struggle in the country.

“Early this morning (Wednesday), I had a swagger and it’s on the social media. They are confused about whether I was doing buga or doing babaringa but it is a day to celebrate democracy while doing ‘dobalee’ for today.

“I am additionally Yoruba boy, I did my dobale. Democracy is a day that is worthy of falling for,” he said.

The dinner was attended by five pro-democracy icons, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, Chief Segun Osoba, Senator Shehu Sani, George Mbah and the Minister of Solid Minerals, Mr. Dele Alake, who all took to the stage to recall President Tinubu’s role in the struggle that eventually crystallized into what is being celebrated.

President of the senate, Godswill Akpabio; Deputy President of the Senate, Jibrin Barau; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas; Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu; Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Olukayode Ariwoola; and the SGF, Senator George Akume, were all present.

Also on ground were the NSA, Nuhu Ribadu; Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; and the Wife of the Vice President, Nana Shettima.

At the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation’s annual Democracy Dialogue held in Benin City, Edo State, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, paid tribute to former President Goodluck Jonathan’s sacrifices for Nigeria’s democracy.

The dialogue, themed “Functional Education and Effective Political Leadership as a Panacea to Africa’s Growth and Development,” brought together political leaders and policymakers from across the continent, including Obi and former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.

In his speech, Obi lauded Jonathan’s commitment to ensuring free and fair elections during his presidency.

“In the history of this fourth Republic, no Nigerian has made the sacrifice you made for this country,” Obi stated.

“You set out to correct one single thing that this country requires: free and fair election.”

Obi also praised Jonathan’s efforts in prioritising education during his tenure by establishing new universities across the country.

“Nobody has contributed again in this Fourth Republic that I know in terms of what you did in education,” he said, stressing the role of education in driving development.

The former Anambra State governor further highlighted Nigeria’s poor rankings in human capital and the Human Development Index.

He stressed the need to invest in education to lift people out of poverty and ensure sustainable growth.

“The crisis we are facing in Nigeria today, especially in the north, are people we abandoned uneducated yesterday and think we can leave them in poverty,” he cautioned.

The Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, established in 2015 focuses on promoting democracy, peace, and transformative change across Africa.

In a related development, Jonathan commended the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, for prioritising the welfare of civil servants and providing a modern workspace through the inauguration of the Edo State Civil Service Secretariat Complex.

He also lauded Obaseki’s decision to offer automatic employment to first-class graduates, encouraging academic excellence among undergraduates.

Jonathan noted the importance of visionary leadership, stating, “To be a leader, especially a political leader, you must be somebody who has vision. If you have vision, no matter how challenging it is, you will find a way to do well.”

A Secondary School drop-out, Ruth Livinus, arrested for faking their kidnap, revealed yesterday that she did it to extort money from her widowed mother to establish a hairdressing salon.

The 27-year-old lady was arrested alongside her live-in-lover, Isaac Gabriel, whom she alleged sold the idea to her.

Parading the lovers alongside 21 other suspects arrested for various crimes at the Zone 2 Police Command, Onikan, Lagos, the Zonal Public Relations Officer, SP Ayuba Umma, said, “A case of kidnapping was reported to the office of the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 2 Command Headquarters, by one Jona Jumai, that sometime in May 2024, her sister, Ruth Livinus, who works as a domestic staff in the Ajah area of Lagos, went missing.

“Few days later, the family members were contacted via a strange telephone number that Ruth Livinus had been kidnapped and was in the custody of the kidnappers, who demanded a five million naira ransom to be paid into a designated account”.

A picture of her in a bush path, with hands and legs tied, as gathered, was sent to her mother to create fear and force her to meet the kidnappers’ demand. Her mother was said to have managed to pay N60, 000 only, before they were trailed to their hideout in Ikorodu area of Lagos.

Speaking with journalists, Kaduna state-born Ruth, in an emotional tone, expressed regrets over her actions. She said, “I wanted to use the money to open a hairdressing shop for myself. My boyfriend, Gabriel, sold the idea to me. We were caught because my stepsister tracked the number used to contact my mother, and that led the Police to us. I have only succeeded in collecting N60,000 as ransom before we were arrested.”

On his part, her boyfriend, Gabriel, however, said Ruth muted the idea.

According to the 24-year-old, “Ruth is a friend; she said she wanted to open a shop, and I told her to tell her mother. She initially suggested we should tell her brother that she was sick, but we concluded that the money that would be sent would not be much. She then said she would lie to her mother that she had been kidnapped. I only supported the idea,” the Benue State-born said.

The new Senegalese government has unveiled measures to reduce the price of rice, oil, bread, and other basic items to address cost-of-living concerns amid high unemployment and inflation.

The country's budget Minister Cheikh Diba confirmed the development.

Recall that President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who won the March election, vowed during the campaign to address high living costs in the West African nation that heavily relies on imports.

Under the new measures, the price of a kilo (2.2 pounds) of the most widely consumed type of rice will be reduced by 40 CFA ($0.065, 0.061 euros), while a baguette will cost 15 CFA (0.023 euros) less, the government announced at a media conference, Agence France-Presse reports.

The reductions, which also cover cement and fertiliser, will take effect in the next few days, government Secretary General Ahmadou Al Aminou Lo told reporters.

Spending on food accounts for half a Senegalese household’s budget, Lo said, adding checks would be stepped up to ensure traders respect the new prices.

Budget Minister Cheikh Diba said the government would forego taxes and customs duties imposed on importers to subsidise the price cuts.

The measures will cost 53.3 billion CFA (more than 81 million euros, $87 million), Diba said.

This comes after Senegal joined the club of oil-producing countries this week as Australian group Woodside Energy announced that production had started in the country’s first offshore project.

Faye vowed that profits from the country’s gas and oil resources would be “well managed.”

The Naira yesterday depreciated in the parallel market to N1,500 per dollar from N1,485 per dollar on Tuesday.

Similarly, the Naira depreciated to N1,476.24 per dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market, NAFEM.

Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative exchange rate for NAFEM rose to N1,476.24 per dollar from N1,473.66 per dollar on Tuesday, indicating N2.58 depreciation for the naira.

The volume of dollars traded on the window fell by 76 per cent to $92.68 million from $385.91 million on Tuesday.

Consequently, the margin between the parallel market and NAFEM rates widened to N23.76 per dollar from N11.34 per dollar on Tuesday.

The World Bank has approved two financing facilities of $2.25 billion for Nigeria to support the Federal Government’s efforts to stabilize the economy.

The approval was announced in a statement entitled, “Supporting Nigeria’s Homegrown Reforms: New World Bank Financing for Inclusive Growth and Revenue Diversification”.

The statement said: “The World Bank has today approved two operations: $1.5 billion for the Nigeria Reforms for Economic Stabilization to Enable Transformation, RESET, Development Policy Financing Program, DPF, and $750 million for the Nigeria Accelerating Resource Mobilization Reforms, ARMOR, Program-for-Results, PforR.

“This combined $2.25 billion package provides immediate financial and technical support to Nigeria’s urgent efforts to stabilize the economy and scale up support to the poor and most economically at risk.

“It further supports Nigeria’s ambitious, multi-year effort to raise non-oil revenues and safeguard oil revenues to promote fiscal sustainability and provide sufficient resources to deliver quality public services.

“Confronted with a fragile economic situation, Nigeria recognized the urgency of changing course and embarked on critical reforms to address economic distortions and strengthen the fiscal outlook.

“Initial critical steps to restore macroeconomic stability, boost revenues, and create the conditions to reignite growth and poverty reduction have been taken.

“These include unifying the multiple official exchange rates and fostering a market-determined official rate, as well as sharply adjusting gasoline prices to begin to phase out the costly, regressive, and opaque gasoline subsidy.

“The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has refocused on its core mandate of price stability and is tightening monetary policy including by increasing interest rates, as is appropriate to reduce inflation. 

“A targeted cash transfer program is being rolled out to cushion the impact of high inflation on the poor and economically insecure households.”

Wale Edun reacts

Commenting, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said: “We have embarked on bold and necessary reforms to restore macroeconomic stability and put the country back on a sustainable and inclusive economic growth path that will create quality jobs and economic opportunities for all Nigerians.”

Also commenting, Ousmane Diagana, the World Bank Vice President for Western and Central Africa, said: “We welcome the support of the RESET and ARMOR programs as we further consolidate and implement our macro-fiscal and social protection policy reforms, consistent with accelerating investment and redirecting public resources sustainably to achieve development priorities.

“Nigeria’s concerted efforts to implement far-reaching macro-fiscal reforms place it on a new path which can stabilize its economy and lift its people out of poverty.

“It is critical to sustain the reform momentum and continue to scale up and expand protection to the poor and economically at risk to cushion the effects of cost-of-living pressures on citizens.

“This financing package reinforces the World Bank’s strong partnership with Nigeria, and our support towards reinvigorating its economy and fast-tracking poverty reduction, which can serve as a beacon for Africa.

“The RESET DPF is focused on supporting Nigeria strengthen its economic policy framework by creating fiscal space and protecting the poor and economically insecure.

“The ARMOR PforR will support efforts to implement tax and excise reforms, strengthen tax revenue and customs administrations, and safeguard oil revenues,” the World Bank said.

The Nigeria Football Federation have announced plans to appoint a foreign technical adviser for the Super Eagles, while under-fire Finidi George is set to return to his assistant role position following the poor start to the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

The Super Eagles drew 1-1 against South Africa in Uyo on Friday before losing to Benin Republic on Monday. The results drew criticisms from Nigerians and the Minister of Sports summoned the Nigeria Football Federation few hours after the loss.

The meeting between the minister of sports, Senator John Enoh, NFF President, Ibrahim Gusau and other members of the apex football body in Nigeria took place on Thursday.

Following the meeting, the NFF announced its plan to employ a foreign technical adviser for the Super Eagles ahead of the Nations Cup qualifiers and the remaining matches in the World Cup qualifiers.

Finidi George is expected to assist the new technical adviser, who will be appointed in the next few weeks.

The NFF also revealed plans to beef up the NFF Technical Department with more qualitative hands. Equally, the Technical and Development Sub-Committee will be re-jigged with immediate effect.

The board also expressed displeasure with the poor attitude of some of the players to the national assignment, and unanimously decided in favour of a more robust scouting programme of outstanding Nigeria-eligible players from across the four corners of the universe, who can add tremendous value to the nation’s flagship team.

The Super Eagles will return to action in September for the Nations Cup qualifiers.

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has deployed 5,112 personnel to boost security during Sallah celebrations in the federal capital.

Dr. Olusola Odumosu, the FCT Commandant of the NSCDC, announced Tuesday that the deployment would cover all six Area Councils and the city center, especially sensitive locations, soft targets, black spots and flash points that are prone to criminal activities.

He warned miscreants, vandals, and other criminals to steer clear of critical national assets and infrastructure, saying any individual caught engaging in criminal activities would face the full wrath of the law.

Odumosu further cautioned against burning tyres on roads, which he said constitutes vandalism and compromises the integrity of road infrastructure.

He also urged residents to refrain from such acts, warning that offenders would be prosecuted.

The commandant warned miscreants who take advantage of festive seasons to commit acts of vandalism of infrastructures such as street lights, solar panels and batteries to desist from that as the command has men all over the FCT and anyone caught perpetrating such criminal acts would be apprehended.

“The FCT administration has spent so much to provide good roads and other basic infrastructure for residents of the FCT, we will therefore not tolerate any act that will sabotage the effort of government,” Odumosu stated.

He further instructed Area Commanders and Divisional Officers to ensure massive deployments within their jurisdictions, and to ensure adequate security coverage in all places of interest.

“The Corps is committed to ensuring safety of lives and property of residents and the protection of Critical National Assets in the FCT.

“You are to ensure 24 hours protection of all these infrastructures, and the holiday makers in the city. We must show commitment in the discharge of our duties as law enforcers.

“However, there is no room for carelessness or over zealousness while carrying out your duties and the operational order must be followed to ensure professionalism on your part,” he said.

Odumosu assured FCT residents that the NSCDC would collaborate with other security agencies to provide security at prayer grounds, motor parks, recreational centers, and other places of interest during the Sallah festivities. He extended his felicitations on the occasion of Eid-El Kabir.