The Nigerian Governors under the aegis of Nigerian Governors Forum have said that they cannot pay the N60,000 minimum wage earlier agreed by the Federal Government to offer labour let alone the proposed N105,000 as said to have been submitted by the Ministry of Finance.
This was contained in a statement made available to newsmen as read in part:
“The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) is in agreement that a new minimum wage is due. The Forum also sympathises with labour unions in their push for higher wages.
“However, the Forum urges all parties to consider the fact that the minimum wage negotiations also involve consequential adjustments across all cadres, including pensioners. The NGF cautions parties in this important discussion to look beyond just signing a document for the sake of it; any agreement to be signed should be sustainable and realistic.
“All things considered, the NGF holds that the N60,000 minimum wage proposal is not sustainable and can not fly. It will simply mean that many states will spend all their FAAC allocations on just paying salaries with nothing left for development purposes. In fact, a few states will end up borrowing to pay workers every month. We do not think this will be in the collective interest of the country, including workers.
“We appeal that all parties involved, especially the labour unions, consider all the socioeconomic variables and settle for an agreement that is sustainable, durable, and fair to all other segments of the society who have legitimate claim to public resources”.
Experts and stakeholders gathered at Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law CPEEL, University of Ibadan to discuss effective policy framework to combat land degradation and desertification in Nigeria.
The position on the need for effective policy framework and community engagement to combat land degradation was made known at the One Day Hybrid Conference on the World Environment Day 2024 organized by the Natural Resources, Energy and Environment (NREEL) of the International Law Association (Nigerian branch).
“Critical knowledge gaps hinder effective land restoration, demanding urgent investment in research that not only addresses the gaps in understanding land degradation problems but also values and integrates the wisdom of traditional knowledge and heritage.
This integration should also extend to the legal framework, ensuring clear comprehension by community stakeholders who are fundamental to the fight against land degradation. There is also a need for everyone to move beyond discussions of sustainable practices and make concrete actions and long-term implementation strategies which are crucial for achieving lasting success, with the understanding that everyone has a role to play in this critical endeavour”.
These recommendations were made at the conference discussion to commemorate the World Environment Day 2024. The World Environment Day is an annual event led by the United Nations Environment Programme and held annually on 5 June worldwide to promote global awareness on environmental issues.
Themed Our Land, Our Future: Land Restoration, Desertification And Resilience, a one day hybrid conferenceorganized by the Committee on Natural Resources, Energy and Environment (NREEL) of the International Law Association (Nigerian branch) chaired by Ms. Oluwaseyi Ebenezer hosted by Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law (CPEEL) University of Ibadan in partnership with Institute for Oil, Gas, Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development (OGEES Institute) and Triple Green Environment Development Foundation (TGED Foundation). Ms. Oluwaseyi Ebenezer, the convener of the World Environment Day Conference 2024 welcomed the participants and emphasized the conference theme. In her speech, she highlighted the urgent need for sustainable land management and the critical role individuals play in combating desertification and land degradation encouraging active participation, collaboration, and innovation among participants, stressing the importance of holistic approaches, robust legal frameworks, inclusive policies, and community engagement. Ms. Oluwaseyi Ebenezer expressed her confidence that the conference discussions would inspire and equip participants with new knowledge and ideas to tackle pressing environmental issues, calling for collective efforts towards environmental sustainability and resilience.
The conference featured a compelling keynote lecture by Dr. Walter Nsoh, Associate Professor of Energy and Environmental Law, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom. He emphasized on the theme as it combines our actions that affect land and lead to land degradation and the consequences attached to it. He highlighted that we can’t talk about land degradation without mentioning issues surrounding climate change such as flooding and to resolves these issues, there is a need to put good restoration and resilience plan in place which should be a global action and everyone has a role to play. He concluded his speech emphazing that farmers should no longer see themselves as food producers but as integrated managers who manages wild range of ecosystem services and good that are beneficial to man.
Following the keynote address, two high-level panel discussions featured prominent experts from academia, government, and civil society – Godswill Agbaitoro, PhD, Lecturer, Energy and Environmental Law, University of Essex, Jumoke Olowookere, Founder The Waste Museum, Patricia Ubiaza-Eze, Principal Partner, Patricia Ubiaza-Eze and Co, Adedoyin Adeleke PhD, Founder and Executive Director Green Growth Africa, Nenritmwa Gotodok, Secretary NREEL Committee, ILA Nigeria Branch, Managing Partner, The Sophisticated Legal Hub and Co-Founder, Green Voices for Green Planet Initiative, Dr. Afolasade Adewumi, Reader/Associate Professor, Department of International Law, University of Ibadan, Dr. Peter Oniemola, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law and Programme Coordinator, CPEEL University of Ibadan, Agbo Chinonso Bathlomeo, Director of Programmes and Projects at the Batnon Center for Environment and Sustainable Development. The panelists discussed the environmental and social impacts of desertification and land degradation, explored existing legal frameworks, and emphasized the importance of community engagement in building resilience for land restoration and environmental protection. The conference also included a quiz competition for students from Ajibode Grammar School and Community Grammar School, Ajibode.
Founded in Brussels in 1873, the International Law Associationis a non-governmental organization with over 4,500 members across 45 national and regional branches worldwide. The Nigerian Branch of the ILA is dedicated to promoting the study and understanding of international law in Nigeria through lectures, seminars, conferences, and other capacity-building programs.
For more information about the conference or the Nigerian Branch of the ILA, please visit www.ila-hq.org
The Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress APC in Ogun State, Alhaji Sola Lawal has been reportedly dead. This was made known today by the State APC chapter in a statement made available to newsmen to mourn the departed soul.
The Statement according to the party described the late Publicity Secretary as a good servant of the party. It reads thus:
“The news of the death of Alhaji Sola Lawal, former Ogun State Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), came as a very sad one to our party, which he served so diligently in various capacities while alive.
“Anyone who came across Sola Lawal while alive will attest to the fact that he was a burst of energy, amiable and jovial. He was a very dedicated party man who diligently carried out his assigned tasks effectively and efficiently to the best of his ability.
“On behalf of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ogun State, we mourn the departed party chieftain, who has since been buried according to Islamic rites; we sympathise with the families, relatives, associates and friends of the deceased and pray that God will grant them the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss, while praying that the late politician will be granted Aljanah Fridaus”.
Governors from across the 36 states in Nigeria have said that a minimum wage higher than N70,000 is not affordable or sustainable for the states.
The governors made the remarks when they met under the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), to discuss the economic situation and the ongoing debate around the minimum wage.
They considered options ranging from N60,000, which was offered to Labour by the Federal Government before the strike, to N70,000, which is currently being paid by the Edo State Government.
Despite their efforts, they were unable to reach a consensus on a uniform amount and have instead set up a committee headed by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma to review the options and make recommendations.
According to sources at the meeting, the governors are in agreement that a minimum wage of N100,000 is not feasible, and some states are still struggling to pay the current minimum wage of N30,000, which came into effect in 2019.
“Records available to us indicated that some states are still paying N18,000 because they are unable to afford N30,000 (which came into effect in 2019). Only a state has adopted a N70,000 wage,” the source said.
The governors’ position is in line with a previous statement made by the Chairman of NGF and Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, who stated that states will only agree to a minimum wage that is “affordable and sustainable”.
Meanwhile, the Presidency on Thursday denied reports that the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, submitted a proposal for a new minimum wage of N105,000 to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, described the reports as false, stating that the minister had not proposed any such amount.
An Osun State Magistrate Court in Osogbo has sentenced a former chairman of Iwo West local council development area in Osun state, Tajudeen Babatunde, and five others to four years imprisonment for conspiring to destroy farmland valued at N10 million.
The other convicts are; Sunday Ajoko, Kohonu Deboye, Adeoye Alabi, Jonas John and an octogenarian, Kasumu Arohunfesu, who was given an option of N80,000 fine.
Upon arraignment, the convicts were said to have conspired with others, now at large, on or before the 16th day of February 2019, at Ayigbiri Orupekere farm, Iwo, to commit felony to wit damage and thereby committed an offence contrary to the law.
The prosecutor said they destroyed 400 palm trees and other economic trees valued at N10 million and burnt the farm.
The Ministry of Justice was represented by Mikaheel Idris the nominal complainant, the Oosa Olaniyi family in Iwo.
While delivering the judgement on Thursday, the presiding Magistrate, Abimbola Famuyide, convicted the defendants, noting that the case against them has been proved beyond reasonable doubt.
The counsel to the convicts, Laide Yekini, had urged the court to temper justice with mercy on his clients by giving them the option of a fine.
But Famuyide sentenced each of the convicts to four years on counts one and four, and two years each on counts two and three.
She said, “Having considered the age of Arohunfesu who was said to be about 82 years and could no longer walk as he was carried to the court, I hereby gave him an option of N20,000 on each of the four counts and advised that he should pay N80,000 to avoid going to prison.”
She directed the complainant to approach the court of competent jurisdiction for compensation, restitution or appeal.
Operatives of the Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have arrested eleven persons and impounded eight truckload of assorted minerals for suspected involvement in Illegal mining activities in Ilorin, Kwara State
The suspects are Ibrahim Gambo, Hakeem Saka, Ahmad Muktar, Sulaiman Ibrahim, Ibrahim Muhammad, Jamiu Mustapha, Rabiu Musa, Aisha Muham, Abdulwasiu Hannafi, Qudus Olalere and Babatunde Hakeem.
They were arrested on Wednesday, May 5, 2024, upon credible intelligence at different locations in Ogbomosho, Oyo State while conveying assorted solid minerals suspected to be marble stone, white powder, lithium, lepidolite to undisclosed destinations without lawful authority.
The suspects will be arraigned in court upon conclusion of ongoing investigations.
Two men, whose identities could not be immediately confirmed, working at a construction site in Ile-Ife, Osun State, on Thursday, were brought out dead from a well after they drowned while attempting to retrieve a bucket being used to fetch water.
It was learnt that the incident happened around 1:09 pm at a construction site located opposite Ilesa Motor Park along the Ife-Ilesa expressway in Ile-Ife.
Two sources near the scene of the incident, who preferred anonymity to avoid being targeted, while speaking at different times, said the fetcher that the two labourers were used to fetch water dropped inside the well.
They said one of the two men had entered the well in an attempt to retrieve the fetcher but did not come out.
The sources further said the second labourer, having sensed that his partner was drowned, who also entered into the well to rescue him, also got stuck inside, leading to tension as people present were said to have contacted operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, as well as officials of Federal Fire Services for assistance.
When contacted, the spokesperson of NSCDC, Osun State Command, Kehinde Adeleke, told our correspondent that operatives of the Corps and men of Federal Fire Service retrieved the corpses of the labourers from the well.
Adeleke further said, “A tragic incident happened today Thursday 6th June 2024 Opposite Ilesa Motor Park along Ife-Ilesa road, Ile-Ife around 1309hours. Two middle-aged men from Iwo were engaged as workmen on a building project opposite Ilesa Motor Park, Ile-Ife. “The unfortunate incident happened when the two workmen were fetching water from a deep well and the fetcher accidentally fell into the well.
“According to eyewitness accounts, one of the workmen, in an attempt to retrieve the fetcher, entered the well, but unfortunately, he got trapped and drowned.
“An attempt at rescue made by the second workman got him drowned inside the deep well also. Corpses of the two men were retrieved through the joint efforts of NSCDC and Federal Fire Service operatives.”
Lagos State Governor, Mr Sanwo-Olu, has awarded Olaniyi Mubaraq Olawale, the overall best graduating student of Lagos State University (LASU), a sum of Ten Million Naira (10,000,000).
Olawale graduated with a remarkable CGPA of 4.98 in Accounting Education, making him a standout among his peers.
The deserving recipient, Olaniyi Olawale, who graduated with a remarkable CGPA of 4.98 in Accounting Education, received the prestigious award in a grand ceremony honoring his exceptional achievements.
Governor Sanwo-Olu commended Olawale for his outstanding dedication to his studies and exemplary academic performance throughout his time at LASU.
The governor emphasized the importance of education and the need to support and reward exceptional students who demonstrate excellence and commitment to their academic pursuits.
Gani Adams, the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, has asked the Oyo State High Court in Ibadan to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed against him by Yoruba Nation activist, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho.
Igboho’s lawsuit seeks N500 million in aggravated damages over an alleged leaked audio conversation, which he claims damaged his reputation. He is also seeking a declaration that the content of the audio clip, allegedly between Adams and a third party named Nuru Banjo in November 2021, is slanderous and defamatory. However, Adams, through his counsel, Oluwole Kehinde of OKC Attorneys, filed a motion to strike out the suit.
In an affidavit supporting the motion, Adams, represented by Michael Oluwanmi Okunore, argues that Igboho’s lawsuit fails to follow due process.
Adams contends that the Writ of Summons lacks the mandatory endorsement required for service outside Oyo State, specifically in Lagos State. He further argues that the Writ of Summons was not signed by either a legal practitioner or Igboho himself.
Therefore, Adams’ motion concludes: “It is in the interest of justice to strike out the claimant’s suit before the Honourable Court on the basis that it lacks substance.
The Kajola Local Government Chairman, Alhaji Mustapha Akeem has presented an appointment letter to the Vice Chairman Kajola Local Government Okeho to be the Political Head/Administrator Iwa LCDA Ilero.
The presentation of appointment letter was done on 3rd of Monday, June 2024 at the local government secretariat.
Also the swear-in ceremony was done for the 11 councillors who represent the 11 wards in the local government Area.
Recall, the swearing in ceremony of the council chairmen was held recently at the State Secretariat on the 24th of May, 2024.
