The president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, on Friday insisted that there was an agreement with President Bola Tinubu that there would not be further fuel price increases if they accept a minimum wage of ₦70,000 for Nigerian workers.

Speaking during an appearance on Arise News, Ajaero said the labour leaders were told to choose between accepting ₦70,000 minimum wage with no increase in fuel price or their demand of ₦250,000 and expect fuel price increases.

Ajaero, in his speech, insisted that based on the condition, organized labour settled for ₦70,000 minimum wage.

The NLC president stated this while reacting to the latest hike in the price of petrol in Nigeria.

According to him, he doesn’t know if betrayed or deceived would be the right word to use in describing the agreement with President Tinubu during negotiations and the subsequent increase in fuel price.

Ajaero said: “I have to narrate the scenario to you, and then we now choose the appropriate word, whether betrayed, deceived or whatever. While we were discussing because we stalemated at 62,000 Naira, even the states were saying they won’t pay, so there was a stalemate that took us to Mr. President.

“And we insisted on 250 (Thousand Naira) and Mr President at the meeting, turned to me and said, Ajaero, you are the person holding my hand from increasing further.

“I said increase what? He said, since I said subsidy is gone, we should have gotten the appropriate price. We should have increased. I want to sponsor you people, labour, to travel to these West African countries and know how much they are paying.

“Some are paying 2,000 (Naira), 1,800 (Naira), 1700 (Naira). As he announced it, we declined immediately that we are not going to take that sponsorship.

“He said, okay, I will go to my office for one hour. You guys decide if you agree for me to increase, I will pay you 250 (Thousand Naira), if not, you take this 62 (Thousand Naira). He stood up and we said, Mr. President, no, we can’t sit down here to decide in your office, we will take about one week to go back and discuss and get back to you, which was exactly what happened, ask anybody, and we adjourned for one week.

“He said, oh, I’m supposed to travel, but because of you, I will cancel my trip until after one week, and when we, reconvened, we were clear to Mr. President that we didn’t have any mandate to come here to discuss a price of a petroleum product or increase, we’re only here to discuss minimum wage and minimum wage alone we’re going to discuss. And we agreed on the basis of that we accepted 70,000 (Naira).”

On what would be the next line of action with the increase in fuel price, Ajaero said that the organs of the NLC will meet next week to discuss the development, stressing that no single person can decide if a strike would be the response or not as the decision must be taken by the all the organs of the labour movement.

“No NLC President will come out and say, we are going to start strike tomorrow or next tomorrow without the organs meeting. In instances, either the CWC (Central Working Committee) or the NEC (National Executive Council), so we are following that process,” Ajaero said.

Asked whether the Congress has started consultations in-house on that, he said, “By latest next week we should be able to meet and have a conversation around this so that the personal view of the leader (NLC President), does not becloud the position of the of the members.”

Veteran Nollywood actor, Sunday Omobolanle popularly known as Pa Aluwe turned 70 on Thursday, October 10.

To celebrate his special day, he expressed gratitude to his maker writing;

”Thank God for life ??? Happy 70th Birthday to me ??? I wish myself long life and prosperity in good health in Jesus name ??? pappyluwe omo iya alaro ??? @70”

Nigerian TikToker, Ojesanmi Afeez, popularly known as Salo, has reportedly been shot in the Lekki area of Lagos State.

Salo was shot in the leg at a filling station in Lekki by assailants who robbed him of his gold chain.

An eyewitness who spoke with Punch on anonymity said the content creator is currently fighting for his life at Perez Medcare Hospital, Lekki Phase 2.

The source said,  “When I got to the hospital, I was not allowed to enter, the nurse just said we should keep praying for him because his condition is critical.

“We don’t know who he offended. Just like he might not know too. You cannot be wiser and tricky than the person watching you. I just advise him to be careful if he eventually survives this.”

Confirming the incident, the Lagos State Police spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, said,“Salo was truly shot yesterday at Admiralty Way, Lekki. We have begun investigation into the incident and I will give you further updates.”

Before the incident, Salo reportedly had an altercation with his fellow TikToker, Tobi Nation, over the purchase of a new apartment.

Salo claimed to have connected Tobi Nation with the agent that sold his Lekki house to him, but Tobi Nation disagreed, saying that he didn’t subscribe to the payment option he suggested.

However, reacting to the attack, Tobi Nation said it was sad to hear the news, stressing that he had visited the hospital where Salo was admitted but was not allowed in.

339 students of the Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, have bagged First-Class degrees at the institution.

Naija News learnt that the Registrar, Regina Tobi-David, disclosed this during the 19th convocation ceremony, conferment of First and Higher Degrees, and presentation of prizes in Ota.

This year’s convocation, themed “Release of Eagles for 2024,” celebrated the graduation of 1,607 students, including 1,456 undergraduates and 151 postgraduates.

While congratulating the students, Regina stated that the first class record was the first in the institution’s history.

This comes a few days after the private institution was named Nigeria’s top university in the 2024 Times Higher Education Rankings.

Covenant University, UNIBEN, UNILAG Make THE 2024 Rankings

Meanwhile, Covenant University (CU), a prominent private institution, has been named Nigeria’s top university in the 2024 Times Higher Education (THE) Rankings.

Published annually, THE Rankings evaluate universities on a global scale, with the 2024 edition covering 1,907 institutions from 108 countries and regions.

Rankings are based on 18 criteria that assess teaching, research environment, research quality, industry collaboration, and international outlook.

The 2024 ranking analyzed data from over 134 million citations on 16.5 million research publications and included responses from 68,402 academics worldwide. THE collected 411,789 data points from over 2,673 universities for this analysis.

On the global stage, the UK’s University of Oxford maintained its top spot for the ninth consecutive year, making it the longest-standing leader in THE’s history, surpassing Harvard University’s eight-year record, which ended in 2011.

Stanford University moved up to second place, while Harvard dropped to fourth. The University of Cambridge also shifted to fifth after holding a joint third position in 2023.

The Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel) is preparing for a significant leadership transition as its two Vice Presidents, Bishops David Abioye and Thomas Aremu, are set to retire after serving for over four and three decades, respectively.

Sources within the church, including an anonymous pastor, confirmed the impending retirements to Punch on Thursday. 

This move aligns with the church’s operational manual, known as The Mandate, which recently revised the retirement age for its leadership from 60 to 55 years.

Church members have speculated that the retirements will coincide with celebrations for Bishop David Oyedepo’s birthday.

One congregant stated, “We have heard that Bishop Abioye and Bishop Aremu will leave during the Bishop Oyedepo birthday celebration. That is the new law in the church; only Bishop Oyedepo can remain in his position for life. One of the two bishops has even been considering leaving for a while, so this is not news to some of us in the church.”

Bishop Abioye is currently 63 years old, while Bishop Aremu is 67. Under the new policy, only the church’s founder, Bishop Oyedepo, will be permitted to serve beyond the specified age limit, while future leaders will be allowed to serve one or two terms of seven years each, subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees.

According to Church Times, farewell services will be organized for the two bishops at their respective locations. Bishop Abioye’s valedictory service is scheduled for Friday, October 18, 2024, at the Durumi branch in Abuja, while Bishop Aremu’s farewell will take place on Tuesday, October 15, 2024, at LFC Basorun in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Bishop Abioye, the current Senior Pastor of Living Faith Church, Goshen City in Abuja, has a long-standing relationship with Bishop Oyedepo, dating back to 1979. He led one of the church’s five pioneer branches in 1987 and was consecrated as a bishop in 1993 at the age of 32.

Bishop Aremu transitioned to full-time ministry after a successful career in accounting and was among the seven bishops consecrated in November 1999 at the Garden of Faith in Kaduna.

Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has said Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL)’s action to fix imported and locally refined fuel prices is illegal and void.

Falana, in a statement on Thursday, referred to remarks made on September 5, 2024, by the Executive Vice President of Downstream NNPC Ltd, Adedapo Segun, who explained that under Section 205 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), NNPC Limited is established to operate in a deregulated market where free market forces determine petroleum prices.

Segun had said, “The market has been deregulated, meaning that petrol prices are now determined by market forces rather than by the government or NNPC Ltd. Additionally, the exchange rate plays a significant role in influencing these prices.”

However, Falana objected to the comment, stating that NNPCL has no legal authority to set the petrol price in Nigeria.

The human rights lawyer pointed out that despite Segun’s claim, NNPCL set the fuel price refined by Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Company Limited last month without allowing market forces to dictate the pricing.

Falana noted that on Wednesday, October 9, 2024, NNPCL again bypassed the mechanism of market forces in determining the cost by announcing new pump prices for fuel refined by the Dangote Refinery.

According to Falana, NNPCL actions violate Section 205 of the Petroleum Industry Act, which mandates that market dynamics determine the prices of petroleum products.

The Federal Government on Thursday in Abeokuta began the sale of rice at a subsidised rate in Ogun.

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, while speaking during a ceremony to signify the commencement, said it was “one of the numerous programmes initiated to bring succour and relief to Nigerians”.

Kyari, who was represented by Mrs Toyin Ayo-Ajayi, the ministry’s State Director, explained that the distribution was being monitored by several Federal Government agencies to ensure transparency, fairness and adequate security.

The Minister stated that the government had put measures in place to ensure that the rice got to the intended beneficiaries.

He said all that was needed was an individual’s National Identification Number (NIN) and Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card to buy 50kg of rice at N40,000.

“However, I want to specifically applaud Gov. Dapo Abiodun for his commitment to the welfare of the citizens of the state.

“Ogun is one of the first set of states in Nigeria to enjoy the benefit and this can be attributed to the governor’s tenacity and visionary leadership.

“Ogun has one of the most organised templates ensuring that this gets to the three Senatorial districts of the state and all at the grassroots,” he said.

Kyari urged citizens of the state to support the government to make sure that all the efforts by different levels of government were appreciated.

In his address, Gov. Abiodun noted that President Bola Tinubu’s initiative testified to his commitment to ensuring he tackled the issue of food inflation and also improved the people’s livelihood.

He expressed his appreciation of the President for his unwavering dedication to supporting the agricultural sector and ensuring food security for citizens.

“This is especially in the light of the present economic realities facing the nation.

“Government has shown responsiveness, thoughtfulness.

“This is appreciated and welcomed, particularly following the removal of petroleum subsidy, as this will go a long way in cushioning the impact of the subsidy removal,” the governor said.

NNPCL deals with companies, not associations — Expert

By Obas Esiedesa

THE Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, has observed that the full deregulation of petrol pricing, along with the withdrawal of NNPC Limited as the sole off-taker of petrol from the Dangote Refinery, means that marketers are now free to source products from various suppliers, including through imports.

This is even as an expert said the NNPCL does not deal with associations, including IPMAN but with companies that applied and paid for their petroleum products.

The IPMAN position came a day after the NNPC increased the pump price of petrol by 15 percent to N998 per liter in Lagos and N1,030 per litre in Abuja.

Speaking to Vanguard, the Public Relations Officer, IPMAN, Chief Chinedu Ukadike, said marketers would source their products from wherever they feel is cheaper and make them (IPMAN) competitive.

Ukadike pointed out that the current business environment in terms of petrol pricing is shrouded in secrecy with marketers not adequately informed about decisions before they were taken.

“The happening has been shrouded in secrecy but with time everything will come out because full deregulation has come into play. Marketers can now import and so let’s see what they will do. Then we will know whether we will go with Dangote or elsewhere where the price is better”, he stated.

Earlier in the day, IPMAN President, Alhaji Abubakar Maigandi Shettima, demanded a refund of N15 billion from NNPC Limited for petrol orders placed by independent marketers but were not supplied.

Shettima who made the demand in an interview with Channels TV stated that if NNPC’s current pricing is higher than that of Dangote Refinery, the national oil company must refund the payments made by independent marketers.

He criticized the NNPC for requesting additional payments from marketers despite not supplying the product for which they had already paid.

However, an expert that preferred to be anonymous faulted the oil marketers, stating that the NNPCL does not do business with oil marketers, including IPMAN.

He said: “NNPCL does not have a business relationship with IPMAN because the association did not fill a form and paid to lift petrol from the company. Rather, the NNPCL is dealing with many companies.