Good morning Nigeria, Welcome to the Editor roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Sunday, 18th, February 2024.
1. Indications have emerged that the organised labour is prepared to lower its demand for N1m minimum wage for workers in the country in line with realities on the ground. The shift in position will likely be communicated to the Federal Government during the second meeting of the tripartite committee on the minimum wage on Monday and Tuesday.
2. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has established a task force to tackle illegal forex trading and naira abuse. The commission is combating illegal forex trading against the backdrop of the continued depreciation of the naira against the US dollar. According to data from the financial market infrastructure group warehousing, also known as FMDQ, the naira depreciated to N1,537.96 per US dollar on Friday from N1,498.25 on Thursday.
3. The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, Akin Sawyerr, said student loans will be disbursed directly to the institutions of applicants to avoid diversion. He also noted that individuals who obtain the loans will be made to repay their loans two years immediately after completion of the mandatory National Youth Service Corps.
4. The Lagos State Government has said it will begin full enforcement of the ban on the usage and distribution of Styrofoam food containers all over the state on Monday. The government said it would seize and confiscate any styrofoam found in shops within the state. Styrofoam is a raw material used to manufacture disposable plates used in eateries.
5. Operatives of the Lagos State Police Command have arrested three suspected members of a one-chance robbery gang. This was disclosed in a statement shared on the command’s X handle on Saturday. ‘One chance’ is commonly used in Nigeria to refer to a robbery that takes place when criminals disguised as commercial drivers pick up unsuspecting passengers intending to rob them.
6. Some bandits have invaded Kwassam and Sabon Layi Kan Makama communities in Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, killing six residents, while scores, including a retired director of the Central Bank of Nigeria, were kidnapped. The Southern Kaduna Peoples Union confirmed the incident on Saturday, saying no fewer than 50 residents were abducted by the hoodlums.
7. Confusion erupted on Saturday in the Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, following the declaration of House of Representatives member, Dennis Idahosa as winner of the party’s governorship primary. The result was, however, disputed by Senator Monday Okpebholo (Edo Central) and the immediate past Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba, both of whom said they won the primary election.
8. Worried by the escalating cost of cement despite huge patronage by road and housing contractors to cement manufacturers, Minister of Works, David Umahi, has summoned an urgent meeting of all cement manufacturers in Nigeria. Those invited are: Dangote Plc, BUA Plc, Larfarge and others.
9. Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, have advised President Bola Tinubu to throw in the towel if he cannot provide a sustainable solution to the problems plaguing the nation. The Governors noted that the hardship and suffering being faced by Nigerians have no tribal, religious or party colouration, stressing that “a hungry man is an angry man”.
10. The Federal Government has announced a 24 hour closure on the Third Mainland Bridge for Iyana Oworonshoki-Lagos Island-bound traffic from midnight on Sunday, February 18 to midnight on Monday, 19th February. The Federal Controller of Works, Lagos State, Mrs Olukorede Kesha, in a statement on Saturday night, said the emergency measure was to help fix an important section of the bridge undergoing comprehensive repairs.
