Good morning Nigeria, welcome to the Editor roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Tuesday, 5th September 2023.
1. The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, will today (Tuesday) begin a two-day warning strike after shunning a meeting with the Federal Government over increasing hardship and suffering across the country caused by the removal of fuel subsidy. The NLC had on Friday, given notice of a two-day warning strike to protest the excruciating suffering in the country.
2. The National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees, the umbrella organisation representing workers in the banking and insurance industry, on Monday vowed to take part in the NLC strike. A statement signed by the General Secretary of NUBIFIE, Mr Mohammed Sheikh, underscored the importance of their participation in the two-day warning strike by the NLC, citing the need to draw the government’s attention to the dire economic situation faced by Nigerians.
3. The Federal Government, in a meeting with the Trade Union Congress, TUC, on Monday, set a two-week timeline on wage award, tax exemptions and allowances to public sector workers to “cushion the pains and anguish they are going through as a result of subsidy removal.” The government also agreed to iron out the modalities of accessing the intervention fund that was recently announced as palliative to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
4. Security agencies have said they will not condone any unlawful action by troublemakers ahead of the delivery of the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja on Wednesday, Brig. Gen. Tukur Gusau, the Director, Defence Information, gave the warning on Monday, telling those who might be planning to cause violence on that day to discard the idea.
5. Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Bode George has taken a swipe at the economic policies of the Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government, saying it is hurting Nigerians. The elder statesman also warned the judiciary not to allow itself to be used to disrupt the electoral process as it delivers judgment on the Presidential Election Petition.
6. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and 14th Emir of Kano, Sanusi lamido Sanusi, yesterday, took a swipe at the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari over the bad shape of the economy. Obasanjo declared that the former president’s government was allegedly a reckless spender. Sanusi lamented that Nigeria led a false life under the Buhari administration.
7. The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, has said that the revenue from Value Added Tax (VAT) and Company Income Tax, CIT, grew Year-on-Year (YoY) by 17 percent to N3.48 trillion in the first half of 2023 (H1’23) from N2.97 trillion in the corresponding period of 2022, H1’22. Details of data released by the NBS also showed that VAT revenue stood at N1.49 trillion in H1 ’23, rising YoY by 25 percent from N1.19 trillion in H1’22.
8. Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, has admitted that President Bola Tinubu has received an invitation to join the G-20 and is currently considering the membership benefits of the gathering of the world’s largest economies.
9. Five names were dropped in the new list of commissioner-nominees sent by Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to the House of Assembly. The affected nominees are Folashade Adefisayo (Education), Solape Hammond (SDG), Aramide Adeyoye (Works and Infrastructure), Lekan Fatodu, and Rotimi Ogunwuyi. They were replaced by six new names – Afolabi Tajudeen, Akinyemi Ajigbotafe, Tolani Sule-Akibu, Yekini Agbaje, Iyabode Ayoola, and Sola Giwa.
10. The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has said that foreign firms repatriated $5.86bn from the Nigerian economy between October 2022 and March 2023. About $5.13bn was repatriated as dividends by foreign investors.
