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LP Slams Tinubu Govt Over Removal Of Ndume As Senate Chief Whip
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
The Labour Party (LP), has accused the executive arm of the federal government led by President Bola Tinubu of unduly interfering in the activities of the legislature.
It also accused the Senate, under the leadership of Goodwill Akpabio, of portraying the dictatorial inclination of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The opposition party stated this in its reaction to the removal of Borno South Senator, Ali Ndume as the majority whip of the Senate.
Ndume was on Wednesday replaced with Ali Monguno as the Senate Majority Whip based on the request of the ruling APC.
The APC, in the letter signed by its National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, accused Ndume of activism and putting out acts that aimed to destroy the ruling party.
The move follows recent utterances by Ndume in which he said Tinubu is caged and that Nigeria is being led by kleptomaniacs.
However, LP in its reaction, through a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Obiorah Ifoh, said Ndume was removed because he dared to speak the truth to power.
The party further described the removal of Ndume as an act of tyranny and an attempt to humiliate and intimidate Ndume.
Ifoh accused the Tinubu government of weaponizing starvation against Nigerians and urged the citizens to resist the dictatorial tendencies of the current government.
The Labour Party spokesperson, said: “The dimension this administration is taking is grave. Few months ago, Senator Abdul Ningi exposed the rot in the government where the Senate leadership and the executive collaborators allegedly padded the budget. That got him suspended and intimidated out of his lawful representative role as a senator.
“It is needless talking about the economic crisis on going in Nigeria even where a few cabal are massively enriching themselves. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently said that food inflation has risen to 40.66 percent. Similarly, the 2023 State of Food Security and Nutrition World report, has it that the number of food-insecure Nigerians has also increased by 133 percent in three years. It jumped from 63.8 million between 2014 and 2016 to 148.7 million between 2020 and 2022. It is even worse at the moment
Even with all these glaring and scaring challenges, the government is said to have paid about N150 billion naira for a presidential jet, building roads that have no direct bearing with the economic crises in Nigeria.
The media practitioners are recoiling into their shelves for the fear of reporting the facts about this government for the fear of emasculation and incarceration.
“What is so democratic about the party in government making decision for an independent legislative arm on who takes up leadership role in our legislature. This is clear a tyranny of a cabal against the a legislative autonomy. Nigeria is gradually descending into dictatorship and we are calling on the citizens to be on an alert and put up a defence against the starvation weapon being deployed by this administration”
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Just in: Plateau Govt Approves N70k Minimum Wage for Civil Servants
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
In line with discussions reached after consultation with relevant stakeholders, the Plateau State Government has approved immediate implementation of the N70, 000 minimum wage for the workforce in Plateau State.
The cheering news is contained in a Press Statement signed by the Head of Civil Service in the State, Stephen Pam Gadong.
Full text of the statement reads in part:
Following the Agreement of the Committee on Consequential Adjustment on Salaries on 13th, November, 2024, the Executive Governor of Plateau State, His Excellency Barr. Caleb Mutfwang, has approved the immediate implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage for workers in the state.
The Implementation is a demonstration of the Governor’s commitment to prioritizing the wellbeing of the workforce in acknowledgement of their invaluableble role in driving the State’s developmental goals.
As the new wage policy is administered, Civil Servants are encouraged to embrace this gesture by recommitting to their duties with renewed dedication and zeal in order to foster a culture of productivity and excellence in service in the State.
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Before final liquidation, NDIC set to auction Heritage bank properties
In a bid to ensure timely declaration of liquidation dividends to uninsured depositors of the failed Heritage Bank (In-Liquidation), the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has commenced the process of auctioning the landed properties and chattels of the defunct bank.
According to the Corporation, this exercise is in line with its statutory powers as the Liquidator of failed banks under section 62 (1)(d) of the NDIC Act, 2023, noting that; “This is another follow-up action sequel to the disposal of physical assets and chattels belonging to the defunct bank at its leased locations nationwide”.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Director, Communication and Public Affairs Department, Bashir A.
Therefore, the auction of the landed assets shall be by competitive bidding in sealed bids scheduled to take place at the six (6) selected locations of the Corporation across the country, for the affected 36 branches of the failed bank beginning from Wednesday 4th December 2024.
“Buyers who wish to participate in the auction are expected to follow laid down guidelines purposely aimed at ensuring transparency, fair competition, equity, and accountability to enable recovery of commensurate values from the exercise. This is critical for the payment of liquidation dividends to eligible claimants.
The Corporation shall give preference to financial institutions who are willing to buy at the highest auctioned value to allow for the continuation of provision of banking services to the Nigerian public at the designated locations”, adding; “This is desirable towards bolstering financial inclusion as envisaged by the financial system regulatory authorities.
“However, Corporate bodies and Private individuals willing to compete are equally eligible to compete in the process without prejudice, the auction shall be open and competitive to all bidders.
Furthermore, bidders will be allowed to inspect the properties and chattels across all locations one week before the date of disposal.”
Importantly too, the statement said; “All interested parties are to make available 10% bid security of the value of their sealed bids to be dropped in the bid box provided at the specific centre out of the six locations of the Corporation as contained in the published advertisements.
“All interested bidders are advised to submit their bids only at the designated NDIC offices covering their choices amongst Abuja, Lagos, Bauchi, Kano, Enugu, and Port Harcourt.”
Meanwhile, the Corporation has vowed that there would be no hiding place for debtors of the defunct Heritage Bank whose financial obligation portfolio is in the region of over N700 billion.
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Naira slumps in parallel market
The Naira experienced a slight depreciation yesterday, slipping to N1,740 per dollar in the parallel market compared to its previous rate of N1,735 per dollar on Tuesday.
According to data from FMDQ, the indicative exchange rate for the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) strengthened, rising to N1,645.4 per dollar from Tuesday’s rate of N1,689.88 per dollar. This marks an appreciation of N44.48 for the Naira.
The market also saw a significant increase in dollar trading activity, with turnover climbing by 122.5 percent to reach $236.84 million, up from $106.44 million the previous day.
As a result, the gap between the parallel market and the NAFEM exchange rate widened, now standing at N94.6 per dollar, up from N45.12 per dollar recorded on Tuesday.
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