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Just in: Reverse PMS price now, NLC tells FG
…demands immediate withdrawal of all detained protesters
The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC has demanded for the immediate reversal of pump price of fuel.
The labour body also demanded for the release of all arrested nationwide protesters.
Naijablitznews reports this was contained in a statement by NLC president, Joe Ajaero on Tuesday entitled:
‘WE FEEL BETRAYED’.
Ajaero declared that “we are filled with a deep sense of betrayal as the federal government clandestinely increases the pump price of pms. One of the reasons for accepting N70,000 as national minimum wage was the understanding that the pump price of pms would not be increased even as we knew that N70,000 was not sufficient.
“We recall vividly when Mr President gave us the devil’s alternatives to choose from: either N250,000 as minimum wage (subject to the rise of the pump price between N1,500 and N2,000) and N70,000 (at old pms rates), we opted for the latter because we could not bring ourselves to accept further punishment on Nigerians.
“But here we are, barely one month after and with government yet to commence payment of the new national minimum wage, confronted by a reality we cannot explain.
“It is both traumatic and nightmarish.
“Yet, when we told government that it’s approach to resolving the fuel subsidy contradictions was patently faulty and would not last, it’s front row cheer leaders sneered at us, saying we did not understand basic economics .
“But if truth be told, this act of betrayal is consistent with the character of this government. We recall the assurances we were given by the leadership of the National Assembly on the 250% tariff hike, that it had been dealt with and there was no need to openly engage the Minister of Power who was at that meeting.
“Instead of the promised reversal, the rate has since been jerked up further putting more Nigerians and businesses in jeopardy.
“The combined effects of government’s ferocious right -wing market policies brought Nigerians and Nigeria to their all-time low and led to the End-Hunger/End Bad Governance protests.
“Rather than make amends, government arrested and hounded into detention some of those who took part and some of those who had nothing to do with these protests, charging them with criminal conspiracy, subversion, treasonable felony, terrorism financing and cyber crime with an intent to overthrow the government of President Tinubu.
“The police and other security agencies have since been on rampage terrorising the citizenry in pursuance of government’s agenda of muzzling lawful dissent.
“In brazen pursuit, they have defamed and libelled not a few individuals.
“They have gone as far as appropriating the statutory roles of the Ministry of Labour and Employment in resolving trade dispute matters and issues considered outside the jurisdiction of the security agencies.
“That the government is on rampage in the face of stifling conditions of living is an understatement but we promise Nigerians that we at the Nigeria Labour Congress will not be cowed into submission. Together with civil society, we brought about this democracy when some of the actors in power today were conspiring with the military on how to perpetuate their hold on political power.
“When the State and the security forces picked on us in a hybrid war, we had our suspicions. We knew they were up to something sinister and needed to distract/divert our attention or possibly frighten or weaken us before they came out with it so that we would not have a robust response.
“Now that they chickens have come to roost, we were right in our suspicions. However, we want to let Nigerians know that the clandestine/surreptitious increase in the pump price of pms is the first among the equally sinister policies government has up its sleeve.
“On our part, we stand resolute with the people and will neither be distracted nor intimidated by the government or its security agencies.
“We insist that government cannot criminalise protests or basic rights in the domain of the citizenry.
“Accordingly, we demand the immediate:
1). Reversal of the latest increase in the pump of pms across the country;
2). Release of all those incarcerated or being prosecuted on the assumption of having participated in the recent protests;
3). Halt the indiscriminate arrest and detention of citizens on trumped up charges;
4). Reversal of the 250% tariff hike in electricity;
5). Stop to the hijack of the duties of the Ministry of Labour and Employment;
6). End to policies that engender hunger and insecurity;
7). Halt to government’s culture of terror, fear and lying.
“We are guided by our belief in our country and the need to secure and sustain its sovereignty, integrity and welfare of the people.
“In the coming days, the appropriate organs of the Congress will be meeting to take appropriate decisions which will be made public.
News
BREAKING: Harris, Trump tied in 1st officially declared result of US Presidential election
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have tied with three votes each in the tiny New Hampshire township of Dixville Notch, kicking off Election Day in one of the first places in the country to report its presidential preference.
The unincorporated township, located along the US-Canada border in New Hampshire’s northern tip, opened and closed its poll just after midnight ET in a tradition that dates back to 1960.
Four Republicans and two undeclared voters participated.
While Dixville Notch isn’t always predictive of the eventual winner – or even the state’s pick – its annual production, despite a dwindling population, is a success story for local leaders and a reason to smile for political junkies eager for an early taste of the day’s events.
By tradition, all eligible voters gather at the now-dormant Balsams Hotel in Dixville Notch to cast their secret ballots once polls open at midnight. Once every ballot is cast, votes are tallied and results announced – hours before anywhere else, making it a destination for national reporters, who often outnumber the voters.
Les Otten, one of the township’s voters and the lead developer for the Balsams, called the early release of the results “a civics lesson for the country,” adding that “if we can help people get out and understand that voting is an important part of their right as an American citizen, that’s perhaps the key to what we’re doing.”
Otten said he expects to break ground on the redevelopment project next summer. In the meantime, he said, “as long as we’re here and we’re property owners and we have, you know, our toothbrush in our bathrooms, we might as well exercise our right to vote.”
Nearby Millsfield and Hart’s Location, which is tucked in the White Mountains, first offered midnight voting before Dixville Notch but haven’t participated continuously and aren’t conducting it this year. A fictionalized version of the three neighbors was featured in an episode of Aaron Sorkin’s “West Wing” dubbed “Hartsfield’s Landing.”
Dixville Notch voters have supported the Democratic nominee the last two presidential elections, with the township in 2020 unanimously casting five votes for President Joe Biden and with Hillary Clinton in 2016 winning four of seven votes — two went to Trump and one to Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson.
In January, four registered Republican voters and two independents participated in the GOP primary, casting six unanimous votes for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
The 75-year-old Otten, who said he has been “a Republican ever since I was seven years old,” told CNN before Tuesday’s vote that he would cast his ballot for Harris.
“Nowhere in the Pledge of Allegiance does it say anything about pledging your allegiance to a person,” Otten said. “And I think at the end of the day, Trump has made it clear that you need to pledge allegiance to him, and he alone can fix this, and that is as anti-democratic as I can understand.”
The voters also cast their votes in the country’s most competitive governor’s race between former one-term Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte and Democratic nominee Joyce Craig, the former mayor of Manchester, to succeed retiring Republican Gov. Chris Sununu. (CNN, but headline altered)
News
EndBadGovernance: IGP orders probe into welfare of minors while in police prison
The Inspector General Of Police, Kayode Egbetokun said he has summoned senior officers including all DCs, CID, and Heads of Investigation Units over the welfare of younger protesters identified to be minors, while they were in police detention.
The development comes following a nationwide outrage over the arraignment of the minors at the Federal High Court on Friday.
The protesters, who were charged with treason, looked malnourished when they appeared in court three months after they were arrested during the August hunger protest.
However, a statement released by the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi in Abuja on Monday night, said Egbetokun had ordered a thorough investigation into how the minors were treated.
The Police PRO also said the report of the investigation has been delivered to the IGP who is currently away in Glasgow, where he is currently participating in the Interpol General Assembly.
The statement read “Following the recent remand and subsequent arraignment of some young individuals on Friday, 1st November, the Inspector-General of Police while in Algiers, Algeria for the African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation committee meeting directed investigation into the conditions surrounding the care and welfare of these young persons while in Police detention facilities.
“Upon receiving the investigative report today in Glasgow, where the IGP is currently participating in Interpol General Assembly, the IGP vowed to thoroughly examine it and take necessary actions to address any procedural lapses or concerns.
To further ensure professionalism in investigation with emphasis on child-friendly investigation and care, the IGP has summoned all DCs CID and Heads of Investigation Units to a conference and workshop on November 7, 2024, at the Police Resource Center, Jabi.”
The Nigeria Police Force then reaffirmed its commitment to upholding legal frameworks, ensuring fairness, and accountability, especially for vulnerable groups.
President Bola Tinubu had on Monday directed the immediate release of all the detainees.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this to State House correspondents on Monday after the President swore in seven newly appointed ministers cleared by the Senate.
The minister said the President ordered the immediate release of the minors without prejudice to whatever legal processes that are ongoing.
The President also directed the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction to immediately see to the welfare of the minors, and also take part to ensure their smooth reunion with their parents or guardians wherever they are in the country.
Tinubu also directed that a committee would be set up to be spearheaded by the humanitarian affairs ministry to look at all issues surrounding the arrest, detention, treatment, and finally, the release of the minors.
News
SAD! One fatality as another 2-storey building collapses in Rivers
A middle-aged man has reportedly lost his life in a collapsed two-storey building at the Egbelu Mgbaraja axis of Ogbogoro Community in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.
This comes barely a week after the collapse of a three-storey building at the Iriebe axis of the same LGA, although no life was lost in that incident.
A witness, Mr. Jonathan Obey, said the building under construction at Ogbogoro caved in on Monday, at about 2pm while the contractors were working on the 2nd floor, killing one of them, while another narrowly escaped with severe injuries.
He said deliberate infractions by the property developer may have caused the building to collapse.
He said: “It’s a building collapse, as we speak one person is trapped right inside the rubble, when we first came, we tried to rescue the person but we couldn’t. When we did our investigation, we found out that they used substandard materials to execute the project, we also found out that the foundation was 3ft for a 2-storey building which was wrong.
“We also found out that some of the rods used by the builders were of low quality, the decking itself was not chained, there was no center beam, it was supposed to have a center beam and a pillar at the middle but it doesn’t have that. They did not use enough cement in casting the first decking.”
Meanwhile, the Rivers State Government has sealed the premises of the collapsed building and declared the property developer, Vincent Nwoye, wanted.
The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Evans Bipi, during an on-the-spot inspection of the collapsed building accused the developer of gross negligence and default of the extant building laws and regulations the state.
He cited failure by the property developer to obtain government-approved building plan and use of substandard materials as the cause of the building collapse and avoidable death.
Bipi said: “We have repeatedly warned that if you are caught building without government-approved building plan, you will certainly face the penalty.
“Government has sealed this property in question and declared the owner wanted because a life has been lost, we need to question him to know why he choose to use substandard materials to execute the project, on why he decided to use 12mm rod for a 2-storey building.
“It would interest the public to know that even the property does not have government approval, it is something the government will not take lightly, we will use this developer as scapegoat for others to learn.”
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