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Saturday, 08 June 2024 04:58

Minimum wage: FG inches up offer to N62k, Govs say even 60k not affordable, Labour now comes down to 250k

The federal government has raised its proposed national minimum wage from N60,000 to N62,000. In response, organized labour has reduced its demand from N494,000 to N250,000. This adjustment follows the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, presenting the cost implications of the new minimum wage to President Bola Tinubu. The organized private sector has expressed support for the government's N62,000 offer. Governors Declare N60,000 Minimum Wage Unsustainable Meanwhile, the 36 State Governors, under the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), have announced that subnational governments cannot afford the proposed N60,000 minimum wage. This stance was communicated through…

Saturday, 08 June 2024 04:57

Tinubu inaugurates N21bn VP’s residence

On Friday, President Bola Tinubu inaugurated the N21 billion official residence for Vice President Kashim Shettima, amid widespread economic hardship. The National Assembly had approved an additional N15 billion last November, bringing the total project cost to N21 billion. The project has faced criticism due to the country's economic conditions. Workers are currently negotiating a new national minimum wage with the government, with an ongoing impasse as unions have rejected the government's N60,000 offer, a 100% increase from the current N30,000. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) recently halted economic activities for 48 hours over…

Saturday, 08 June 2024 04:55

Prices of rams, foodstuffs soar ahead of Sallah

Ahead of the forthcoming Eid-el Kabir celebration, prices of animals used for sacrifice during the annual festival have skyrocketed beyond the reach of many celebrants. Every year during the Islamic month of Dhul Hijjah, Muslims around the world who have the means, slaughter animals like sheep, goat, cow or camel – to reflect the Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail, for the sake of God. While it is not the only livestock acceptable, a narration in Sahih Muslim records that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) sought out horned, white rams to sacrifice during the Eid el-Kabir, as the ram…

Saturday, 08 June 2024 04:54

Amid widespread power outages, hunger in Nigeria, WHO says cooked foods in fridges should be thrown away after 4-hr power cut

Amid widespread power outages and increasing hunger in Nigeria, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has advised that foods not properly refrigerated during power cuts should be discarded. According to WHO, perishable and cooked foods stored in a refrigerator become unsafe to consume after four hours without power. In a series of posts on its X account for the 2024 World Food Safety Day, themed "Food Safety: Prepare for the Unexpected," WHO stated, “If there has been a power outage in your area, refrigerated or frozen food may not be safe to eat. Products can become unsafe if they have been…

Friday, 07 June 2024 04:31

Electronic transfers via banks’ apps, internet banking suffer delayed, failed transactions as payment gateway goes down

The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) is experiencing a downtime, leading to delays in completing electronic transactions. Financial technology firms (fintechs) notified customers of the disruption in transactions in separate notices seen by TheCable on Wednesday. The NIBSS instant payment platform is an account-based, real-time electronic funds transfer (EFT) system. It enables financial institutions to provide online real-time funds transfer services to their customers through all available electronic channels. TheCable understands that customers are having a hard time making simple transactions like the payment of electricity bills. A message sent to customers by Eversend, a financial technology firm, said delays…

Friday, 07 June 2024 04:30

Afreximbank disburses $925m crude oil-backed loan to NNPC

Afreximbank has disbursed $925 million to Nigeria's state-owned NNPC, part of a syndicated $3.3 billion crude oil-backed prepayment facility, the African trade bank said on Thursday. This brings the total disbursement to Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) to $3.175 billion, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) said. Afreximbank said the deal was the largest crude-backed facility in Nigeria and one of the largest syndicated debts raised in Africa. The pan-African lender had been tapping oil traders to finance a $3 billion loan to Nigeria's state oil company after the energy firm approached it for the facility last August, to help the government's…

Thursday, 06 June 2024 04:53

‘Petrol subsidy gone’, long live petrol subsidy: FG finally admits to N5.4trn petrol subsidy for 2024 after previous denials

In a not-so-surprising development, the federal government has admitted that Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, will be spending up to N5.4 trillion on oil subsidies in 2024. This admission follows months of repeated denials by government officials who had insisted that there were no subsidies. The revelation came during a presentation by Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, on an Accelerated Stabilisation and Advancement Plan (ASAP). The plan is designed to address key challenges affecting reform initiatives and stimulate development across various sectors of the economy. “At current rates, expenditure on fuel subsidy is…

Thursday, 06 June 2024 04:51

MSF overwhelmed as admission of severely malnourished children spikes 100% in Northern Nigeria

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, is facing an overwhelming influx of severely malnourished children at its medical facilities in Northern Nigeria. The global humanitarian organization raised the alarm in a statement on Tuesday, issued by its Field Communication Officer in Nigeria, Abdulkareem Yakubu. According to the statement, MSF in-patient facilities in Northern Nigeria have recently recorded an "extraordinary increase in admissions of severely malnourished children with life-threatening complications," surpassing last year’s figures by over 100 percent in some locations. "For the MSF teams, this is an alarming indication of a premature peak of the lean…

Thursday, 06 June 2024 04:50

75 percent of those we support with food, clothes, others are Nigerian students - UK Charity

Seventy-five percent of the clients at Thornaby’s Sprouts Community Food Charity (SCFC) are now Nigerian students grappling with financial difficulties, charity manager Debbie Fixter revealed. The charity, which offers food, clothes, and household items, has experienced a surge in Nigerian students seeking help. Fixter told BBC News that the charity has reached its “maximum capacity.” SCFC reported a shift in its clientele in recent months, with the majority of visitors being Nigerian master’s degree students from Teesside University. Nigerian students in the United Kingdom have recently been making headlines, with some being blocked from continuing their studies and ordered to…

Thursday, 06 June 2024 04:49

Passengers stranded as Abuja-Kaduna train derails again, second time in two weeks

On Wednesday, a train bound for Kaduna from Abuja derailed at Asha station in the federal capital territory (FCT), leaving many passengers stranded. A passenger reported to TheCable that the derailment occurred at approximately 3:52 pm, less than 30 minutes after the train departed from Kubwa station in Abuja. "Passengers are currently stranded as there are no signs of authorities being notified," said the passenger, who wished to remain anonymous. This incident marks the second derailment on this route in two weeks. On May 26, a train traveling from Rigasa station in Kaduna to Abuja derailed in a mountainous area…

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Wednesday, 05 June 2024 04:47

N100k minimum wage ‘on the card’ as Labour suspends strike for one week

Organised Labour may settle for N100,000 minimum wage as the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage commences daily meetings for five days to reach a consensus. Multiple sources in the labour movement told The PUNCH on Tuesday that the union leaders were willing to review their demand from N494,000 to N100,000, following the criticism and controversy that trailed their proposal which was considered outrageous and unrealistic. In a statement by his media aide, Rabiu Ibrahim on Saturday, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the proposed minimum wage would result in an annual expenditure of N9.5tn, a…

Wednesday, 05 June 2024 04:44

Afenifere decries increasing spate of civilian-army killings

PRESS RELEASE Afenifere expresses deep concern over the increasing spate of civilian-army clashes and implores the citizenry, the army and the government to tread the path of justice, peace and unity to prevent total anarchy or breakdown of the country’s processes. The killing of soldiers and the brutal reprisals that have accompanied them in Delta and Abia States have created a crisis of mutual recrimination in recent times. All over the world, citizens revere their soldiers and are only attacked when viewed as an army of occupation. The present situation is unacceptable and Afenifere will not allow itself to be…

Tuesday, 04 June 2024 04:50

Strike may end today as FG, Labour agree on minimum wage ‘that’s above N60k’

The indefinite strike by labour unions in Nigeria might conclude soon following an agreement reached with the federal government on a new national minimum wage late Monday. The agreement was finalised at a meeting in Abuja, convened by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume. National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, the Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, and the Minister of Labour, Nkiruka Onyejeocha also attended. While the specific new minimum wage amount remains undecided, the federal government has committed to a figure higher than the current N60,000 offer. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade…

Tuesday, 04 June 2024 04:49

Nigeria’s External reserves fell further by $1.8bn in 10 weeks – Report

Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves have fallen by $1.8bn in 10 weeks, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria. As of May 29, 2024, the country’s FX reserves were $32.69bn, down from $34.44bn as of March 18. This decline signifies a drop from the $36.1bn recorded in May 2023. The reserves have been declining steadily over the past few months, with a total decrease of $3.4bn since February 2024. Experts believe that the decline in FX reserves is attributed to a combination of factors, including debt repayment, a significant decline in oil exports, a decrease in foreign investment, and…

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