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 Fed govt vs states •Supreme Court to decide fate of LGs Finally, the Federal Government’s suit against states’ handling of local government affairs and finances has been fixed for June 13. The apex court panel hearing the matter has instructed states to file all their processes, including counter-affidavits, within seven days, while the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) who urged the court to abridge time would have two days to respond. Then, the battle would have been fully joined. It is bad enough that 25 years after the 1999 Constitution has been in operation, no one knows exactly how the government closest to the people should be run. The constitution, in section 7, dictates that only democratically elected governance model is allowed at that level. But, in practice, state governors have been selecting leaders and dissolving the structure at will. Whereas every state has a law governing operations of the local governments, elections, or what is just some form of electio...

 MURIC warns labour not to resume strike close to sallah The Muslim Rights Concern has warned the organised labour not to resume its strike close to the day of sallah. The Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress announced on Tuesday that they were suspending their strike for one week. They had taken the decision after holding a review meeting with their organs to consider the commitment of the Federal Government to pay higher than the initially offered N60,000 minimum wage But MURIC in a statement signed by its Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, expressed the worry that the one-week relaxation of the strike expires on 11th of June being the eve of this year’s Id al-kabiir, an important festival for Muslims. The statement said: “The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) suspended its strike yesterday for one week only. The union vowed to review the situation in a week’s time, “A quick calculation shows that NLC’s one week moratorium falls due on Tuesday, 11th June, ...

 Police quiz MohBad’s father over alleged defamation Joseph Aloba, the father of late singer Ilerioluwa Aloba, also known as Mohbad, was questioned on Monday by officers of the Force Criminal Investigation Department at Alagbon, Ikoyi, Lagos, over a petition by Oba Saheed Elegushi. According to a statement released on Tuesday by Monisola Odumosu, head of the Aloba legal team, the petition involves allegations of cyberbullying, cyberstalking, and criminal defamation. Odumosu noted that these allegations stem from a recent interview Joseph Aloba gave. The statement revealed, “Mr. Aloba was invited to the police station, accompanied by legal representatives Teri Wellington and Monisola Odumosu. Oba Saheed Elegushi’s petition alleges that during an interview with a London-based blogger, Mr. Aloba defamed him. Allegedly, Mr. Aloba claimed that his son was bullied and killed on the instruction of Oba Elegushi, with Sam Larry being the executor.” Aloba clarified in the statement that his ...

 Labour Vows To Reject Meagre Addition To ₦60,000 As Minimum Wage The Organised Labour has vowed to reject any lean addition to the ₦60,000 offer by the tripartite committee on the new minimum wage. The President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, stated this on Tuesday, hours after the Organised Labour comprising the TUC and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) suspended its industrial action which started at 12:01 am on Monday. “At the meeting on Friday, they (the tripartite committee) said they would not add anything more to the ₦60,000 but in the meeting of yesterday (Monday), Mr President was able to commit to doing what is more than ₦60,000,” Osifo said. Before the strike, the tripartite committee which has the Federal Government, states and the Organised Private Sector as members, offered Labour ₦48,000, then ₦54,000 and then ₦57,000 and later ₦60,000, all four offers which were rejected by the TUC and NLC. When asked whether Labour would accept a few thousand nai...

 Umahi condemns Second Niger Bridge vandalism The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has described as “cruel and cowardly,” the destruction of the expansion joints used to absorb the thermal sections of the Second Niger Bridge. The minister expressed shock that reports of vandalism were still being recorded, despite the presence of the private security outfit deployed by the ministry to man the area, He, therefore, said a technical team had been directed to inspect, evaluate and reinstate the damaged parts of the superstructure. Umahi, reacting to a viral video which circulated on Monday, showing where some of the fittings on the bridge had been removed, described the development as saddening. In a statement issued by his Special Adviser (Media), Uchenna Orji, on Tuesday, “The minister condemns in the strongest terms this ruthless destruction of the expansion joints as a deliberate act of sabotage on a key national infrastructure that has immense socioeconomic benefits to the contiguo...

 Minimum wage: Orji Uzor Kalu reveals suitable salary for Nigerian workers Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has put forward a proposal for a new minimum wage of N90,000 for workers in Nigeria. The suggestion aims to address the ongoing dispute over the minimum wage between the Federal government and Organized Labour. During Tuesday’s Senate plenary, the discussion centered around the nationwide strike organized by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) to advocate for a significantly increased minimum wage, surpassing the current N30,000. “Let the entire Senate see how we can persuade both the Labour and the Federal government to agree between N75, 000 to N90, 000 naira. “If you go by 90,000 naira, it means in the last five years in which this law (N30,000) was made, it means if you divide 200 percent of N90,000 by 5 it will give you 40 and the food inflation, the purchasing parity and other things you have in the market its also around 32 to 33%, so...

 STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE  PRESIDENT TINUBU CONGRATULATES CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM ON ELECTION AS MEXICO'S FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENT President Bola Tinubu extends his congratulations to Her Excellency, Ms. Claudia Sheinbaum on her historic election as the first female President of the United Mexican States (Mexico). Ms. Sheinbaum won the Mexican presidential election by a landslide, becoming the first female President in the country since its independence in 1821. President Tinubu states that the election of President-elect Sheinbaum accents the voices of women in government, shatters political glass ceiling, and sends a reverberating message across the world that women must not only be participants but principal architects in shaping and implementing decisions affecting the lives of many. On behalf of the government and people of Nigeria, the President congratulates the people of Mexico and calls for the strengthening of bilateral ties between both nations across areas of mutual inter...