Author: Opalim Lifted

The House of Representatives, at a plenary session on Thursday, vowed to give up 50 percent of their salaries for six months to address hunger across the country. Speaker Tajudeen Abbas presided over the session, during which Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu amended the motion, urging his colleagues to sacrifice 50% of their salaries. When it was his turn to speak, he made this plea, seeking their support for this gesture. “This government is doing its best, but one year is not enough to address the challenges facing this country. I want to plead with our colleagues to sacrifice 50 percent…

The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, COREN, has said Nigeria recorded 22 building collapses between January and July 2024. The President of COREN, Prof Sadiq Abubakar, disclosed this at a news conference on Wednesday in Abuja. The news conference is themed, “The Incessant Spate of Building Collapse in Nigeria in Recent Times: A Call for Sustainable Collaboration by All Stakeholders.” According to Abubakar, from January to July 14 alone, no fewer than 22 cases of building collapse have been reported in Nigeria, with Lagos having 27.27 per cent, Abuja and Anambra at 18.18 per cent each. He…

Professor Tahir Mamman, Minister of Education, has made a U-turn in his earlier statement, where he directed the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to admit only candidates who have attained 18 years in tertiary institutions. Mamman announced on Thursday, in an ongoing policy meeting organised by JAMB in Abuja, that only applicants who were 18 years and above were eligible for admission. Stakeholders in the meeting objected to his statement, pointing out that it was nonsensical for a 16-year-old student to pass WAEC and JAMB and yet receive a denial of entry. Reacting to that, the minister later accepted…

President Bola Tinubu has approved N70,000 minimum wage for Nigerian workers. The president vowed to review the national minimum wage law every three years. Tinubu also pledged to help the private sector and sub-national governments (state governments and local governments) pay the minimum wage. The decisions was announced at the meeting held with the leaders of organised labour, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), on Thursday in Abuja. Comrade Joe Ajaero, President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and Comrade Festus Usifo, President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), were present at the meeting alongside some members…

A Milan court has ordered a journalist to pay Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni damages of 5,000 euros ($5,465) for making fun of her in a social media post, news agency ANSA and other local media reported. The journalist, Giulia Cortese, was also given a suspended fine of 1,200 euros for a jibe on X, formerly Twitter, in Oct. 2021 about Meloni’s height that was defined as “bodyshaming”. The Prime Minister took legal action against Cortese after the two women clashed on social media. The Prime Minister, whose far-right Brothers of Italy party was in opposition at the time, took…

Members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), on Tuesday, staged nationwide protests within campuses of public universities to demand the immediate release of their withheld salaries. Protesting members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) have gathered at the entrance of the University of Abuja to demand the release of their withheld salaries. The aggrieved workers had several inscriptions on their placards as they marched around the university campus, calling on the Federal Government to release…

Police fired tear gas to scatter protesters in Bangladesh on Thursday, while authorities cut some mobile internet services as violent clashes that have killed six and injured hundreds this week showed no signs of slowing. Shops and offices were open in Dhaka, the capital, but there were fewer buses on the streets, as a call for a nationwide shutdown from students demanding abolition of a quota of 30% reservations drew little response. Police fired tear gas to disperse stone-throwing students who blocked a major highway in the southern port city of Chittagong as mobile services were halted across most of…

The Dangote Industries Limited has said that International Oil Companies (IOCs) are still frustrating crude oil supply obligations to its 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery. Devakumar Edwin, the Vice President of Dangote Industries Limited disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday. According to him, IOCs were still selling crude at $2 to $4 per barrel, above the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission’s official price. He also alleged that IOCs preferred selling crude produced in Nigeria to Asian Countries. “Data on platforms like Platts and Argus shows that the price offered to us is way higher than the market prices…

The landing cost of Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol, was N1,117/litre as of Tuesday, July 16, 2024, the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN) announced on Wednesday. MEMAN disclosed this during a webinar with journalists on Wednesday. The association revealed that the landing cost of diesel was N1,157/litre, while that of aviation fuel was N1,127/litre. Chronicle NG reports that the N1,117 landing cost of petrol is far above the pump price of the product in Nigeria. At the moment, filling stations operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and those of the major marketers sell…

The Lagos State Government on Wednesday debunked a piece of viral news on social media, stating that it had re-introduced the monthly environmental sanitation programme. A statement signed by its Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, also emphasised that there would be no restriction of movement on the last Saturday in July as is being widely speculated. Wahab linked the report to the “work of mischief makers” who are keen on confusing residents. He urged all Lagos residents to disregard the content of the viral news and go about their lawful business endeavour. Wahab explained that what…