The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Tuesday, dismissed a suit filed by Senator Ahmad Muhammad Bulkachuwa, seeking an order restraining anti-graft agencies from inviting, interrogating or arresting him over what he said about influencing his wife’s judgement who was a former Court of Appeal President.

The court held that the lawmaker has no right to influence judgements of a judge.

There had been calls for Bulkachuwa’s arrest and prosecution after he publicly claimed that he influenced decisions of his wife while serving as President of Nigeria’s Court of Appeal.

THE WHISTLER reports that Senator Bulkachuwa had during the valedictory session of the 9th Assembly, said his wife, Justice Zainab, “accepted my encroachment, and extended her help to my colleagues.”

In the viral video clip on June 12, he said his wife assisted his colleagues at the National Assembly, as a serving judge.

“I look at faces in this chamber whom have come to me and sought for my help when my wife was the President of the Court of Appeal.

“And I must thank particularly, my wife, whose freedom and independence I encroached upon while she was in office, and she has been very tolerant and accepted my encroachment, and extended her help to my colleagues.

“I did my best and in most cases I succeeded,” Senator Bulkachuwa had said, while the then Senate President, Ahmed Lawan interjected him.

But in his originating summons before Justice Inyang Ekwo, Senator Bulkachuwa, through his lawyer, Mr. Donald Ayibiowu, stated that the leadership of the 9th Assembly did not allow him to “fully speak” during the valedictory session.

Ayibiowu claimed that his client’s political opponents are now twisting the development to malign his reputation and that of his family.

Moreso, Ayibiowu argued that in line with Section 1 of the Legislative Houses Powers and Privileges) Act 2017, only the Senate in session or any of its sub-committees has the disciplinary power to invite Bulkachuwa to answer any question relating to his conduct/utterances on the floor of the Nigerian Senate.

The plaintiff therefore asked the court to declare that he “is covered, privileged and protected by the parliamentary immunity as enshrined in Section 1 of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act 2017 and freedom of speech and expression made thereto is privileged.”

He also prayed the court to declare that without exhausting the internal disciplinary mechanism, recommendations and approval of the 9th House of Senate, no other law enforcement agent of the federal government including the defendants “can invite any member of the Senate for questioning/interview and or for any disciplinary purposes in relation to the plaintiff’s privileged inchoate expression/statement/speeches made on the floor of the Nigeria House of Senate at the valedictory session.”

The Attorney-General of the Federation, the Clerk of the National Assembly, State Security Service, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC), and Nigeria Police Force, were listed as 1st to fifth defendants.

Amid the development, the retired justice had debunked the comments credited to her husband, saying she “never favoured any party” during her time as a judge.

But in his judgement on Tuesday, Justice Ekwo held that the most rational interpretation of the statement made by Bulkachuwa was that it is contrary to the law.

“The answer is simple, he influenced his wife, ” Ekwo said, adding this is an act of corruption.

Ekwo said the statement of the lawmaker is a confession of an irregular act that is subject to be investigated and prosecuted.

The judge said the plaintiff is liable to be arrested based on his statement, adding that the National Assembly is not a place to hide any person who has committed a crime involving influencing the administration of criminal justice.

“I hold that this case lacks merit and ought to be dismissed. The case is dismissed” Ekwo held.

For the second time in one week, Nigeria’s electricity supply again experienced a severe decline, dropping from a high of 3,594.60 megawatts to an alarming 42.7MW.

The development has caused blackouts across the country, with businesses and residents relying on alternative power sources.

THE WHISTER had last week reported that the grid, operated by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) from Osogbo in Osun State, collapsed on Thursday morning

The grid had gone down to 273 megawatts of electricity coming from two out of the over 27 electricity generation points.

The grid went down at 00:41am, putting some Distribution Companies (DisCos) feeders out.

As of 4:00am last Thursday, five generating plants were on the grid. Afam VI had 0.70MW, Dadinkowa was generating 0.00MW, Ibom Power had 32.90MW, Jebba had 240MW and Olorunsogo was on the grid with zero generation.

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, had last week said the national grid shutdown was caused by power outage.

He said there was a fire outbreak at the Kainji/Jebba line, that led to a sharp drop in the frequency from 50.29Hz to 49.67 Hz at 0:35:06 hrs. These stations are the key player in the power supply chain.

Adelabu in a statement said, “At 00:35Hrs this morning, a fire outbreak with an explosion sound was observed on Kainji/Jebba 330kV line 2 (Cct K2J) blue phase CVT & Blue phase line Isolator of Kainji/Jebba 330kV line1 was observed burning.

“This led to sharp drops in frequency from 50.29Hz to 49.67 Hz at 0:35:06Hrs with Jebba generation loss of 356.63MW. Kainji started dropping load from 451.45 MW at 00:35:07Hrs to zero.

“At 00:41Hrs frequency dropped further from 49.37 Hz to 48.41 Hz resulting in system collapse of the grid. We are on top of the situation and speedy restoration is in progress.”

Erik ten Hag has been urged to recall Harry Maguire for Manchester United’s heavyweight Champions League clash against Bayern Munich.

The England international has endured a torrid start to the new season which began with him being stripped of the club captaincy.

Maguire has since appeared only fleetingly and returned to the substitutes’ bench on Saturday from where he watched his side torn to shreds by a rampant Brighton canter to a 3-1 victory at Old Trafford.

The defeat compounded a wretched start to the new campaign for United who are languishing in mid-table ahead a daunting test against Bayern and the in-form Harry Kane, who has made a prolific start to life with his new club.

Victor Lindelof and Lisandro Martinez both looked way off the pace against the Seagulls and were said to have been involved in a heating dressing room bust-up after the game.

Regardless of the veracity of those reports, former Chelsea star Andy Townsend believes Ten Hag should swallow his pride and recall the struggling Maguire who he believes is perfectly qualified to negate the threat of his England teammate Kane.

Townsend told talkSPORT: ‘At the weekend United were all over the place at the back, were they not? I don’t think that Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof, they’re what I’d call a number two centre-half.

‘I don’t think they are natural leaders, I think they need to be talked through, coaxed through matches. Is this the perfect match for Harry Maguire to come back into the United defence. He knows Harry Kane.

‘He’ll have been up against him in training, he’s played against him here, there and everywhere. Could Harry Maguire come back in and resurrect himself. Is it that outrageous because Harry has been well documented.

‘Don’t forget it’s easy to overlook what he’s done previously because he’s lacking in confidence and he hasn’t looked sharp.

‘Every now and then you have a game where you stick someone in.’

MORE : Manchester United concerned over ‘growing involvement’ of Erik ten Hag’s agent in transfer business

MORE : David De Gea to be offered La Liga return with Real Betis after Manchester United exit

[NewsPot]

AN unnamed supporter of Newcastle United is safe and in a stable condition in hospital after being stabbed in Milan yesterday ahead of his side’s UEFA Champions League fixture, Italian police confirmed today.

Newcastle United, who finished fourth in the English Premier League last season, face AC Milan tonight from 5.45pm at San Siro in the opening Group F match of the 2023/2024 Champions League campaign.

The fan was stabbed twice in the arm and once in the back, according to the Italian police, but is expected to leave hospital later today.

Police say they were called to an incident in the popular nightlife area of Navigli at around midnight.

The police said: “The victim was with a friend and it is thought they encountered a group of seven/eight other people. It is not known if this group were Italian or foreigners.

“The state police have opened an investigation to try and discover exactly what happened, the motive and to find those responsible.

“Many Newcastle fans have arrived in the city of Milan and this is the only reported incident.”

Newcastle expressed their concern about the incident and promised to work with Italian law enforcement to look into it.

“Our thoughts are with the supporter and their family and we hope for a full and speedy recovery,” the club said in a statement today.

AC Milan were semi-finalists in the competition last season while Newcastle United are back for the first time in 20 years.

Stabbings are not uncommon with Italian ultras (die-hard fans) while travelling England fans also have a reputation of rowdiness.

[NaijaTimes]

The prestigious Chevening Scholarship was won by 44 Nigerians in 2023, according to the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in Nigeria.

At a pre-departure event held for the latest scholars at the British House, Walter Carrington, Lagos, on September 6, 2023, the Deputy High Commissioner, Johnny Baxter, revealed that Chevening received over 70,000 applications from 160 countries across the globe, with 14,000 of those applications coming from Nigeria alone.

The Deputy High Commissioner further revealed that only 10,000 of those applications qualified for consideration. Out of the 10,000, 44 emerged scholars from Nigeria.

The luck 44 were selected through a thorough, rigorous and credible screening process.

One of the Nigerian Chevening Scholars is Lawyer and development advocate, Aderonke Ige, who has spent over a decade contributing to developments through community mobilisation, policy advocacy and social impact building in communities across Nigeria.

Speaking at the pre-departure event, Aderonke recalled that her passion for development and humanitarian activism stemmed from her experience growing up during the oppressive military regimes in Nigeria.

According to the scholar, she thereafter vowed, as a child, to dedicate herself to creating alternative realities of dignity and sanctity of life for fellow citizens. Three decades along the line, it is apt to say that this young and vibrant non-profit practitioner is still on course birthing that dream into fruition.

Aderonke, who founded Help Initiative for Social Justice and Humanitarian Development in 2019, a platform for hand-holding and community building is also an Associate Director at Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), where she works with a team of other patriotic Nigerians in delivering social justice through citizens engagements.

She champions advocacies for human right to water, climate justice and good governance.

For over a decade, she has been actively involved in promoting human rights, Gender justice, citizens’ engagements and participatory development through non-profit platforms including New Initiative for Social Development (NISD), Justice Development and Peace Commission, CIVICUS, Help Initiative for Social Justice, CAPPA and so on. She will be studying at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London for a Master of Science in Development studies.

While speaking with our correspondent, a visibly elated Aderonke Ige said: “With each passing day since I was chosen for Chevening, I have been acutely aware of the enormous responsibility that comes with this opportunity. My hope is to deepen my knowledge and expertise, to delve into the intricacies of development and social impact, and to equip myself with additional skills necessary to bring about lasting change and positive impact within and beyond my communities.”

[Leadership]

Rivers United head coach, Stanley Eguma has said his team will be banking on the support of fans against Etoile Filante of Burkina Faso

The Pride of Rivers held the Burkinabes to a goalless draw at the Stade Municipal Stadium, Yamoussoukro during the first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup.

Eguma admitted that the fans need to awaken the team from their comfort zone.

He assured that the coaching crew will work on the lapses noticed before the return leg.

“It’s a game of football, the fans are very important, we need them,” Egunma told the club’s media.

“This is the time we need them most, the fans need to awaken the players from their comfort zone to achieve the needed victory.

“The team needs to rise up to the occasion so as to get the needed results to make the fans happy.”

[DailyPost]

No fewer than eight security agents comprising soldiers, policemen and Nigeria Security And Civil Defence Corps have been killed by gunmen in Imo State.

The incident which happened on Tuesday morning in Umualumaku community, Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of the state has thrown the area into panic.

The joint security taskforce team who were in two security trucks were ambushed and set ablaze by their attackers.

None of them survived as they were burnt inside their operational vehicles.

A security operative who doesn’t want to be mentioned told our correspondent that reinforcement teams had been sent to the scene of the crime with the intent to arrest the suspects and rescue the corpses of the slain security operative.

A resident in the community who do not want to reveal his identity for security said that he saw the security agents a few minutes before they were set ablaze.

He said that the community had been thrown into confusion, owing to the development.

Our correspondent saw a video clip of the attack as the security agents set ablaze in the two vehicles.

When contacted, the spokesperson for the police in the state, Henry Okoye, confirmed the development but asked for time to get the full details of the horrible incident.

More details, shortly.

[Punch]

Determined to nullify the election of President Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, on Tuesday, lodged 35 grounds of appeal before the Supreme Court.

Atiku, through his team of lawyers led by Chief Chris Uche, SAN, is praying the Apex court to set aside the judgement the Court of Appeal delivered on September 6, which affirmed Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, as the valid winner of the presidential election that held on February 25.

He told the apex court that the verdict of the Justice Haruna Tsammani-led five-member panel of the President Election Petition Court, PEPC, which dismissed his petition against the outcome of the presidential contest, was not only perverse, but occasioned a grave miscarriage of justice against him.

The PDP candidate, who is a former Vice President, maintained that the PEPC panel erred in law, when it failed to nullify the presidential election on the grounds of non-compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022, even when evidence that was adduced before it, showed that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, acted in breach of extant laws and regulations guiding the conduct of elections.

He accused the PEPC of reaching its unanimous decision based on gross misconstruction and misrepresentation of provisions of both the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and the Electoral Act, 2022.

More details soon.

[Vanguard]

“Omo, it is now that I am beginning to understand why there is so much fight for this thing called Presidency of Nigeria oh. See as Tinubu just dey do swag, dey shine, dey do Eko for Show from here to there. Him just dey tranga, dey travel, dey flex. Him don dey look young and fresh sef.”

“He is President my friend. Anyone else in his shoes will act in more or less the same manner. If you are placed astride a horse, no matter how modest you are, the moment the horse gallops, you will bounce up and down, your neck will move.”

“Omo, Tinubu dey bounce. President of Nigeria for hand, ECOWAS Chairman just like that, Paris Summit, AU Summit, G-20, stop-over in UAE, and na so he don dey New York, now now oh, rubbing shoulders with leaders of the world.”

“He is President. The President of Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa. I don’t know why you people always think you can envy the President of Nigeria. Once you get into that position, you are practically a monarch. Is it easy? No. It is not. It is a power game. Even if you were to grab that position, you that I know will run with it. Let me tell you one thing, Tinubu and the people around him, know how to use power.”

“I hear the Presidency is lucrative. Each time you travel, you get fat estacodes, and the President gets the biggest envelope”

“Sometimes, I don’t understand you. I look at all the certificates you brandish and I wonder. You think the big deal for a President of Nigeria is estacodes? Who worries about estacodes when you sit and preside over the entire wealth of Nigeria, and you can lift people up or destroy them, create billionaires at will, and turn billionaires into paupers if they do not respect that there is a new Sheriff in town?”

“Truly, a new Sheriff is in town. See as the man dey enjoy. I no go surprise if the man takes new wife sef to crown everything. But what about the Supreme Court matter? The process of determining the true winner of the 2023 general election is still on. I hear the Chief Justice of the Federation is about to announce a panel of Supreme Court Justices.”

“The only matter that still exists is this: This is Nigeria. In this place, nobody is going to remove, embarrass, humiliate, or dethrone a sitting President who has spent more than 100 days enjoying Aso Villa AC, the paraphernalia of office, the majesty of being President, shaking hands with world leaders, stumping on grounds that generations in your family never thought possible. You will manage to get to that height, for more than 100 days and counting, and you will open your eyes, your wife or wives are alive, and all your supporters who know that this is a big elephant meat that nobody can eat alone, and all of you will open your eyes and allow other people to take the meat you are already enjoying from your teeth. Please be realistic. This is Nigeria. Na die there we dey so oh.”

“But it was possible in Kenya.”

“What happened in Kenya? My friend, this is Nigeria. You people have to stop comparing spaghetti with well-cooked jollof rice. Yes, some people have been saying the Nigerian Constitution should be reviewed and amended to ensure that election petitions are resolved before anyone is sworn in at any level. I agree too in principle. That would be a good way of deepening our electoral process. But until then. For now, this is what we have.”

“I hear say the man don reach New York sef as we dey speak.”

“Yes. He is President. He is there on your behalf to promote your interests as a citizen and the interests of Nigeria as a country.”

“Me, I just hope this won’t end up like another radio trip”

“What do you mean radio trip?”

“The President stopped over in UAE, after attending the G-20 Summit in New Delhi, and the Presidency told us he was able to achieve major things including investments in Nigeria by the UAE, lifting of the visa ban on Nigerian travellers and resumption of flights by Emirates and Etihad Airlines without any immediate payment by Nigeria. Nigerians broke out into a break dance. Local travel agencies did Tik Tok. Nigerians living in Dubai jubilated. But you never hear? An official of the UAE has said on CNN that their country never made any such commitments. Even the read-out by the Emirates News Agency did not include the exciting claims by the lying Kings of Nigeria. We were even told that UAE officials were already meeting with Nigerian officials. Omo, Audio!”

“Please. Please. We can be very critical. But we must also understand that diplomacy is not exactly black and white. There are grey areas in-between. You win some. You lose some. Have you forgotten that the same President went to New Delhi for G-20 and came back home with investment pledges of about $14 billion?”

“You don see am?”

“Actually, yes. In fact, last week, as part of the fall-out of the New Delhi, G-20 trip, NNPCL signed a gas supply deal, and a Memorandum of Understanding with Indorama, to promote the development of large-scale gas utilization industries in Nigeria. That’s a deal. A gain of diplomacy. Professionals don’t expect that diplomacy will yield 100% results always, but you must keep pushing, you must keep defending national interests within the international competitive space.”

“Fine. I hope the President will bring something concrete, positive, and useful back from the United Nations General Assembly. It is his first outing on the biggest stage in the world. One of the newest Presidents who would be given a place at the podium. On the sidelines, he will be coveted by Presidents, personalities and investors. When he returns, we don’t want any audio claims or exaggerations. Nigeria is too big a country to go to UNGA for photo-ops.”

“I am sure New York is not a new place to President Tinubu. Afterall, he is a Chicago guy. He is not one of those new Presidents who would get carried away by the sight of skyscrapers. May be some of the members of his entourage who may be visiting New York for the first time in their lives.”

“It is not a holiday visit. I hope they all know UNGA is a lot of work. And in any case, President Tinubu had earlier said he was travelling with a very small delegation.”

“Have you seen the Presidency publishing a full list of the Presidential delegation to UNGA?”

“No”

“Wait then for Sahara Reporters, David Hundeyin, Obidients and the usual anti-Tinubu media crowd to dig out the truth. I have seen names of persons who have been sighted in New York whose presence may well turn Tinubu’s maiden appearance at UNGA into a jamboree.”

“There are serious issues on the table at this UNGA. I would like to see Nigeria talking about serious issues - democracy in Africa, climate adaptation, SDGs, the international economic corridor, geo-politics. Will the President address the UNGA? How many minutes would he have?”

“Ten minutes max. But don’t worry yourself. These ones don’t have problems writing good speeches. There are more than enough boys at the back-end. Telling people what they want to hear is part of the power game. And this new Sheriff knows that game.”

“The boys. The boys. Tinubu just made one of his boys CBN Governor-nominee. I have no doubts that Nigeria’s rubber-stamp National Assembly led by Godswill Akpabio will quickly rubber-stamp the nominations, including the four other Deputy Governors who have been named.”

“Yemi Cardoso. I think he is a good pick. A safe pair of hands. He is a commercial banker though, with a background in business management. Conservative. Good pedigree. Worked with Citibank. Became Chairman Citibank. Helped to set up Citizen’s bank. There’s no controversy around him. I don’t know the four Deputy Governors. They come across like political appointees, and for that reason, I guess altogether, there is no depth in the appointments.”

“My point. That is my point. The job of the Central Bank is monetary policy. All these Tinubu nominees have no monetary policy, macroeconomics background at a time the CBN has so much to worry about: the CBN Balance Sheet, abuse of ways and means in violation of Section 38 of the CBN Act, intervention loans that have to be cleaned up, inflation, foreign exchange problems and the need to restore confidence in the CBN.”

“I get your point. But don’t let your point carry you away. What is the big deal about macroeconomics? Textbook knowledge. You people seem to have forgotten that a journalist, Adamu Ciroma was once CBN Governor in this same country. He was also Minister of Finance. Many others who succeeded him were senior bank tellers as they call them who were glorified with the titles of commercial bankers. In fact, I can tell you categorically that a graduate of Islamic Studies once ran the CBN and he did much better than the so-called macroeconomics people. The job only needs common sense.”

“You don’t run an economy in the kind of state that Nigeria is with roadside common sense. You need knowledge. A strong skills-set.”

“Sometimes you put people in a position because you trust them. You can then surround such persons with core subject area experts. Tinubu can appoint directors into the CBN who know all the micro and macroeconomics, monetary policy and the abracadabra but he also needs in that institution, a man that he can trust.”

“But why is it that President Tinubu does not seem to trust anybody that has not been his boy or past aide, or someone recommended by a friend, a sycophant, or by a blood relation? He is practically turning the Federal Government of Nigeria into an extension of Lagos.”

How? He promised to run an inclusive government. Wike is from Rivers and the opposition. Festus Keyamo is Delta. And so on.”

“I know what I am talking about. I am talking about strategic positions and optics. Look at the management of the economy as proposed. The CBN-Governor nominee is Yemi Cardoso who once worked with Tinubu as Commissioner for Budget and Planning in Lagos. Dele Alake, Tinubu’s former Commissioner for Information in Lagos is Minister of Solid Minerals. Former Governor of Osun State, Tinubu’s blood relation, Gboyega Oyetola, is Minister for Marine and Blue Economy. The Chairman of the Federal Internal Revenue Service (FIRS) is Zacchaeus Adedeji, another Tinubu acolyte, and Tope Fasua, another member of the same clan, is Special Adviser of the economy. Wale Edun is Minister of Finance. Every person in charge of a money-making economic posting is a Yoruba man, directly connected with Tinubu. Haba!”

“It is called Emilokan. It is my turn. It is our turn. Bishop Matthew Kukah long ago called it “the my-own-ni-zation of power”. He predicted the present and the future and this has come to pass. Other Presidents have done more or less the same thing. When a President gets to power, he pushes advantages to his own people. This is why we are not yet a nation. You cannot blame Tinubu. He is simply following what he inherited from Buhari.”

“President Jonathan did not behave like that. President Obasanjo did not act like that. Maybe it is an APC standard.”

“It is even good you mentioned President Buhari. His handlers did everything possible to disprove the claim that he Katsina-nized and Northernized Nigeria”.

“But he did. Even some sycophantic Ministers took strategic government infrastructure to Daura, Katsina thinking that would promote their selfish, political ambitions.”

“Do you know what I find intriguing in this matter?’

“I am with you.”

“Can you believe our friend, Garba Shehu recently published a piece in which he was talking about President Buhari, 100 days after leaving office?”

“No. What is that? And what is Mallam Shehu saying? I have never heard of any former President crowing about 100 days after leaving office. Garba Shehu was probably talking about the former President’s cattle farm and the problem in Niger.”

“No. He says 100 days after leaving office, Buhari is still the superstar.”

“Some of these Presidents don’t know when to move on. Completely insensitive. That is the problem. I think people must realize that there cannot be two Presidents in this country at the same time. The President is Bola Tinubu. Not anyone else. When you are out, you are out. Even Baba Obasanjo is still acting President all over.”

“What has OBJ done? I don’t get your drift. He left office in 2007.”

“He went to an event in Iseyin, Oyo state, he was ordering traditional rulers around. Stand up, Sit down, he was acting like a Regimental Sergeant Major. He was a guest at the event oh, just like the monarchs. What gives him the right to think he can order people around. Kings for that matter. He is lucky one of them didn’t pack enough spine and balls to disobey him.”

“My brother, traditional rulers lost their space long ago. The conflict between tradition and modernity has turned monarchs into cultural relics in Nigeria. The colonial masters abused them. They sent them into exile. They defied their authority. Post-colonial Nigerian leaders treat them like employees. Were you not in this country when Nyesom Wike tongue-lashed a traditional ruler and described his crown as an Uthman dan Fodio cap? Were you not here to witness the dethronement of monarchs by Governors in the North. Obasanjo was giving a lecture on protocol”

“But I hear he has been ordered by the Oluwo of Iwo to apologise. One of his own wives has promptly apologized on his behalf and her two children.”

“Please stop. Oluwo to Obasanjo? And which wife? Have you not seen the story saying the wife is an impostor according to Obasanjo himself?”

“There are no fake wives, please. Every wife mans a gate. I disagree. Two children oh”

“Talking about wives, I feel for Wunmi, the late musician, 27-year-old, Mohbad’s wife. Nobody is sparing a thought for her and her five-months-old son who has now become fatherless.”

“Mohbad. Bad story. I just hope Nigerian artistes will learn the relevant lessons from the tragedy about relationship with labels, copyright issues, family, friends, depression and the challenges of stardom.”

“Sad.”

“Sad”.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has threatened to embark on an indefinite nationwide strike if the federal government fails to meet their demands.

The NLC President, Joe Ajaero gave the hint on Monday when he lamented that the government has so far failed to uphold its end of the bargain or show commitment since the fuel subsidy removal policy was introduced.

Naija News reports that following the removal of fuel subsidy on May 29 by President Bola Tinubu, the labour leaders among other things are demanding a review of the minimum wage, a workable roadmap to the CNG alternative, fixing of the country’s refineries, and other measures to lighten the burden of economic hardship brought about by the increase in the price of petrol.

However, following the deadlock in negotiations between the NLC and the government led by Labour Minister, Simon Lalong on Monday, Ajaero submitted that the workers may have no other option but to proceed on indefinite strike if the government fails to respond to their demands.

The NLC President added however that the situation can still be resolved within this week if the government shows commitment.

The ultimatum terminates at the end of the week.

“We agree that the Federal Government has had more than enough time for the past four months and that even if there is a commitment, between now and the next four days, issues will be resolved,” Ajaero said while speaking on Channels TV on Monday.

“And we hope that the minister [Simon Lalong] will work with us within these next few days to make sure we resolve the problem.”

On the possibility of further negotiation, Ajaero said NLC is ready to attend if invited by the government.