Author: Opalim Lifted

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is pushing for a new national minimum wage of at least N500,000, saying the current N70,000 wage can no longer meet workers’ basic needs. NLC President Joe Ajaero said the union would soon begin negotiations with the Federal Government for a review of the national minimum wage. Ajaero, represented by NLC Deputy President Audu Amba, spoke at the Rights of Workers Summit in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State, over the weekend. He said rising inflation and the increasing cost of living had significantly weakened workers’ purchasing power. “Anything less than N500,000 cannot cater for workers,” he…

Amnesty International has urged African governments to end their involvement in controversial United States (US) third-country deportation agreements, warning that the arrangements expose migrants to severe human rights abuses and violate international law. In a joint statement authored by Regional Directors Marceau Sivieude and Tigere Chagutah, the rights group highlighted that at least 13 sub-Saharan African countries have signed deals with the US to accept deported foreign nationals. The nations include the Central African Republic (CAR), Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ghana, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Uganda. Amnesty documented…

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said it is tightening regulatory oversight of telecommunications operators over worsening network performance and poor consumer experience. The telecom regulator began its new compliance process by issuing pre-enforcement notices to operators whose networks may have failed to meet prescribed Quality of Service (QoS) standards. Industry sources familiar with the development said the notices could mark the start of a tougher enforcement regime that may result in significant penalties for operators found to have repeatedly breached regulatory benchmarks. The move follows months of increased scrutiny of operators’ network performance, consumer protection obligations and compliance with Key…

Iran has set several conditions for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, including compensation for war damage, an end to sanctions and the lifting of a US naval blockade. The demands could complicate efforts to restore free passage through the strategic waterway, which is vital to global energy supplies. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said discussions with Oman on transit and management of the strait were “approaching the final stages”. However, he said reopening the Strait of Hormuz “is subject to other conditions and compensation for the violation” of a June agreement. Iranian security chief Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr also…

Niger State has recorded 17 deaths from 124 diphtheria cases between January and August 2026, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Murtala Bagana, has disclosed. Bagana made the disclosure over the weekend in Minna during an interactive session with journalists, saying the state had also recorded three new cases, while 74 patients had been treated and discharged. He described diphtheria as a deadly but vaccine-preventable disease and stressed the need to strengthen routine immunisation to reduce outbreaks and deaths. According to the commissioner, the state has intensified its immunisation efforts, conducting two mass vaccination campaigns so far this year. He…

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the 19 presidential candidates announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2027 election to publicly disclose their assets and liabilities, including those of their spouses and, where applicable, unmarried children under 18. The organisation also asked the candidates to disclose the legitimate sources of their significant assets and publicly reject vote-buying and electoral bribery before and during the election. SERAP made the demands in an open letter dated August 8, 2026, signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, and issued on Sunday. The candidates listed by the organisation…

Fresh Russia-Ukraine strikes have killed at least five people and injured dozens as both sides intensify long-range attacks amid stalled prospects for a peace agreement. Russian strikes killed two people and injured dozens across Ukraine overnight Saturday and Sunday, while a Ukrainian drone attack killed three people in Russia’s Belgorod region, according to officials. In Ukraine, two people were killed in a Russian drone strike in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. The attack also destroyed four floors of a residential building. Regional governor Oleg Synegoubov said 23 people were injured in the attack. Images from the…

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has scored the Nigerian economy low, following the latest Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Household Expectations Survey. Speaking on Saturday through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) said an economy in which citizens are abandoning plans to buy homes, cars and basic household assets cannot credibly be advertised as one on the path to prosperity. Atiku described the survey as a damning verdict on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic policies, saying the CBN’s own numbers have stripped the government’s economic propaganda of whatever credibility…

The Federal Government has announced plans to begin the local production of family planning commodities as part of efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s health system, create jobs and harness its youthful population for economic growth. The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, disclosed this in Abuja while inaugurating the Nigeria FP2030 High-Level Inter-Ministerial Platform on Family Planning, Health, Human Capital and National Development. According to a statement signed by Ado Bako, Assistant Director, Information and Public Relations to the minister, the platform will strengthen coordination among government institutions and drive the local production of family planning materials.…

Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have arrested three more persons suspected to be members of the kidnapping gang that abducted Samuel Okunsebor, dean of agriculture at Nasarawa State University. The latest arrests were made on Friday night at a local brothel in Mararaban Akunza, along the Lafia-Makurdi highway, according to a security source. Okunsebor was rescued by DSS operatives two days after he was abducted by gunmen on Wednesday, July 15, at Mile Uku, a border community between Lafia and Nasarawa Eggon LGAs. Two suspects, including a woman, were arrested during the operation that led to the…