Featured

Labour Kicks over Salary Increment for Tinubu, Others, Says Action Provocative

Published

3 years ago

June 22, 2023

Eric

The organised labour has described the proposed salary increase for president Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima and other political and judicial office holders as provocative because of the fuel subsidy removal pain Nigerians are going through.

The News Agency of Nigeria on Wednesday reported that Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation, and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has recommended an upward review in the basic salaries of political and judicial office holders. and that the reviewed salary required legislation by the national and state assemblies before its implementation. The report also noted that the commission stated that the last review was done in 2007, which led to the 2008 Act on the remuneration of political office holders.

“The commission, having considered that the consumer price index of some selected baskets of commodities have collectively grown by an average of 371% from 2008 to 2022, the current annual basic salary of all categories of political, public and judicial office holders in the country is adjusted upward by 114 per cent,” it stated.

The agency disclosed that it recommended that existing allowances of political office holders be maintained, while three new allowances were introduced for judicial office holders.

Responding to the salary review, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, through its Vice President, Tommy Etim, on Wednesday told The Punch that it would provoke Nigerians.

“The increment is such that will provoke Nigerians seeing as Nigerians are already groaning under the effect of the subsidy removal among others. The TUC has always called for a reduction in the cost of governance. However, if they still go ahead with it, we are going to use that opportunity to table more allowances for the Nigerian people,” he said

On its part, the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics described the proposed 114 per cent pay rise for elected politicians as provocative and insensitive.

The National President of the union, Dr Anderson Ezeibe, in an interview with our correspondent in Abuja, said, “ The report is provocative and insensitive. It is difficult to see the rationale behind such a move by the government in a country where the working class has been groaning under severe economic pains.

“While the staff unions in the tertiary education sector have been negotiating a wage increase with the government since 2017 and the government showing a lack of commitment to the process, the same government is busy awarding themselves such pay rise.

“The citizens are still suffering from the impact of the removal of subsidy on PMS, increase in electricity tariff and the attendant implications on their wellbeing only to see such “reward” which can only encourage opulence and oppression by the political class.

“It is an affront to Labour as the Labour movement is still trying to come to terms with the reality of the economic situation in the country and negotiating some palliatives from the same government. It is disappointing.”

Meanwhile, the organized Labour will again meet with the representative of the Federal Government on Monday.

The Punch

Featured

Tinubu Nominates Oyedele As Minister of State for Finance, Moves Anite-Uzoka to Budget Ministry

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

A statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga, has announced that “President Bola Tinubu has nominated Taiwo Oyedele as the minister of state for finance, replacing Doris Anite-Uzoka.

“Mrs Anite-Uzoka will now move to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, as the Minister of State, her third portfolio in the administration.

“President Tinubu has today conveyed the nomination of Mr Oyedele to the Senate for confirmation in a letter to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

“Until President Tinubu nominated him as a minister, Mr Oyedele from Ikaram, Akoko, Ondo State, was the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, which overhauled Nigeria’s tax system.

“Mr Oyedele, 50, is an economist, accountant and public policy expert.

“He attended Yaba College of Technology, where he obtained a Higher National Diploma (HND) in accountancy and finance. He attended Oxford Brookes University and earned a BSc in applied accounting.

“He also completed executive education programmes at the London School of Economics, Yale University, the Gordon Institute of Business Science, and the Harvard Kennedy School.

“Mr Oyedele spent 22 years of his working career at PwC, joining in 2001 and rising to become the Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader.

“Mr Oyedele is also a professor at Babcock University in Ogun State and a visiting scholar at the Lagos Business School.”

Featured

Defection: Atiku’s Son, Adamu, Resigns As Adamawa Commissioner

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

Adamu Abubakar, the first son of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, has resigned as Adamawa State’s commissioner for works and energy development, days after Governor Ahmadu Fintiri defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.

Abubakar’s resignation letter, dated 2 March 2026, was addressed to the governor through the Secretary to the State Government. He gave no reason for his departure.

The timing is pointed. Fintiri announced his defection to the APC in a statewide broadcast last Friday, saying his cabinet and the PDP’s state structure had moved with him. Within 24 hours, 22 commissioners and special advisers publicly announced they were following suit. Abubakar, whose father remains one of the PDP’s most prominent national figures, was not among them.

In a statement issued Monday night, Abubakar’s media aide Abdulaziz Jauro said the former commissioner thanked the governor for the opportunity to serve and pledged continued loyalty to the administration’s developmental agenda. He also expressed gratitude to his father “for granting him the moral support and blessing to serve the people of Adamawa State” — a line that, read in context, suggests Atiku was consulted on the decision.

Abubakar said his resignation was not a withdrawal from public life. “This does not mark the end of his commitment to public service,” the statement read, “but rather the beginning of new avenues for developmental collaboration.”

The resignation leaves unresolved the question of whether it reflects a political break with the governor over his defection or a personal decision unconnected to the broader party realignment now reshaping Adamawa’s political landscape.

Featured

DSS Nabs Man over Assassination Attempt on Peter Obi

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) has detained a man in connection with the recent attack and alleged assassination threats targeting Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

According to AIT, the shooting incident took place on February 24, 2026, in Benin City, Edo State, during a political gathering attended by Obi and several figures from the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The meeting was hosted by former APC National Chairman, John Oyegun. Gunmen reportedly opened fire at the venue, causing panic and forcing attendees to disperse for safety.

According to security sources, shortly after the attack, an individual identified as Udeme Monday Stephen allegedly took to social media claiming responsibility and issuing additional threats against Obi, warning of further violence.

Intelligence officials reportedly initiated swift investigations, employing digital tracing and forensic tools that led to the arrest of the 26-year-old suspect in Rivers State. He is said to be a teacher at a private secondary school in the Eliozu area of Obio-Akpor Local Government Area.

The suspect remains in DSS custody and is expected to face prosecution. The agency reiterated its commitment to responding to credible threats and safeguarding lives and national interests without bias.