Good morning Nigeria. Welcome to the Naija News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Tuesday, 12th March 2024
1. Minimum Wage: Start Paying Wage Awards, Tinubu Begs State Governors
President Bola Tinubu on Monday appealed to the governors of the various states to ensure they pay the wage awards to workers in their respective states.
Speaking during the commissioning of projects in Minna, Niger State, the President said if the wage awards are paid, it would go a long way in cushioning the economic hardship on workers pending the commencement of a new minimum wage.
He added that it would also guide against inflationary measures.
The president stressed that he is appealing to the Governors and not directing them to ensure the payment of the wage award.
Tinubu appealed to all the states to adopt the wage award, and urged the National Executive Council to also adopt it.
2. Why I Don’t Like To Blame Past Administrations – Tinubu
President Bola Tinubu has said he does not like to blame past administrations for the socio-economic challenges in the country.
The President stated this on Monday at the flag off of Agric Mechanisation Revoluion For Food Security in Minna, the Niger State capital.
According to Tinubu, it is not in his character to blame past governments because he is committed to taking the right actions to boost the nation’s economy and set it on the path of prosperity.
The President also encouraged Nigerians to make economic prosperity out of the nation’s multifaceted challenges.
3. Northern Senators Disown Ningi Over ‘N3 Trillion Budget Padding’, Back Tinubu
Senators from the 19 states in the North have disassociated themselves from claims by the Senator representing Bauchi Central, Abdul Ningi, that the 2024 national budget was padded to the tune of N3 trillion.
Naija News reported that Senator Ningi, speaking on behalf of the Northern Senators’ Forum during an interview with BBC Hausa, alleged that the National Assembly debated and passed N25 trillion as the 2024 budget and not the N28.7 trillion being implemented by the Federal Government.
But reacting in a joint statement on Monday in Abuja, the Northern Senators, Aminu Iyal Abbas (Adamawa), Ibrahim Bomai (Borno), Abdulaziz Yar’adu (Katsina), Lawal Adamu Usman (Kaduna), Jibrin Isah (Kogi), Diket Plang (Plateau) and Saliu Mistapha (Kwara) disowned Ningi’s submission and backed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.
4. Emefiele Depleted Nigeria’s Foreign Reserves Without Buhari’s Approval – Presidency
The Presidency has said former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, took billions from the foreign reserves without the approval of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, stated this during an interview on Television Continental on Sunday.
The presidential spokesman added that many Nigerians might not believe that Buhari did not know about the atrocities committed by Emefiele.
Ngelale said Emefiele succeeded in depleting Nigeria’s foreign reserve because he was the apex governor and the chairman of the CBN Board of Trustees.
Ngelale also stated that the ongoing reforms in the apex bank were geared towards closing gaps which Emefiele exploited while in office.
The presidential aide said Tinubu is spearheading reforms that would close the loopholes that allowed for the malpractices of the past.
5. Why Student Loan Scheme, Others Are Being Delayed – Tinubu
President Bola Tinubu has given the reason for the delay in the commencement of the social intervention programmes and the Student Loan programme.
The Nigerian leader said the reason for the delay of the programmes which ought to have commenced was that they are being worked on and fine-tuned.
Tinubu stated this on Monday at the flag-off of the Agric Mechanisation Revolution for Food Security in Minna, the Niger State capital.
Recall that the Federal Government had rescheduled the commencement of the student loan program to March 1, 2024, after failing to meet the February 26, 2024, kick-off date it initially fixed.
According to a presidency source, the shift in the kick-off date for the scheme was because of the process of expanding the scheme to accommodate students of vocational schools was yet to be concluded.
The new launch date is the fourth set by the authorities since the much-anticipated initiative was unveiled in the middle of last year.
The scheme, which was to start last September and postponed to January 2024, is yet to commence, even as the government said it is fine-tuning the process.
6. SSANU, NASU Declare 7 Days Warning Strike
The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) have declared a 7-day warning strike.
Naija News understands that the strike was declared to demand the payment of four months of withheld salaries of their members, after the 2022 nationwide strike.
The decision was reached by the joint action committee of the two unions, after a meeting which held in Akure at the weekend.
This comes a week after the unions warned of potential disruptions to industrial peace in Nigerian universities.
The unions emphasized the unfair treatment and questioned the government’s rationale behind this selective payment.
According to the SSANU president, Mohammed Ibrahim, who read the communiqué of the meeting to journalists in Abuja on Monday, the decision to embark on the warning strike was taken as a last resort since several protest letters and other communications with the Federal Government did not result in the payment of the withheld salaries.
7. UK Bans Nigerian Health Workers, Others From Bringing Dependants
The United Kingdom (UK) has banned health and care workers from Nigeria and other foreign countries from bringing dependants to the country.
The UK Home Office made the disclosure in a post via its verified X handle (formerly Twitter) on Monday.
According to the UK government, the measure was part of its plan to reduce migration into the country, adding that overseas care workers brought an estimated 120,000 dependants to the UK in the year ending September 23.
It wrote: “From today, care workers entering the UK on Health and Care Worker visas can no longer bring dependants.
“This is part of our plan to deliver the biggest ever cut in migration.”
8. Senate Inaugurates Committee To Probe CBN’s Anchor Borrowers, Ways And Means
An Ad-Hoc Committee has been established by the Senate to investigate the Ways and Means, including the Anchor Borrowers Programme by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Naija News reports that the decision was made on Monday by the Red Chamber led by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, and accompanied by other lawmakers.
This decision was made following a resolution by the Red Chamber to scrutinize the details of various programs that have contributed to the country’s current debt profile.
These programs include funds allocated to state governments, manufacturers, aviation, banks, and excess funding in the power sector.
The Senate arrived at this resolution after a thorough debate on the report of the National Assembly Joint Committees on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions (BIOFI), Finance, National Planning, Agriculture, and Appropriation, which focused on the state of the economy.
9. ‘I’m Ready For Suspension’ – Senator Ningi Clarifies Statement On N3.7 Trillion Projects In 2024 Budget
The Senator representing Bauchi Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Abdul Ningi, has asserted that he was misquoted regarding the 2024 Appropriation Act.
Recall that Senator Ningi, in an interview with BBC Hausa, alleged that the National Assembly debated and passed N25 trillion as the 2024 budget and not the N28.7 trillion being implemented by the Federal Government.
Ningi, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), stated that the Northern Forum lawmakers sought the service of a private auditor and discovered irregularities in the budget.
In a chat with Channels TV on Monday, the Chairman of the Northern Senators’ Forum stated that he is ready for suspension, stressing that he never suggested that President Bola Tinubu is implementing two budgets or biased against the North.
Ningi also clarified that he stands by his utterance as a Senator and not the Chairman of the Northern Senators’ Forum.
He added that it has been established beyond doubt that N25trn was rightly allocated in the budget, citing three parameters (money, project, and location) but cannot ascertain the project location for the other N3trn.
10. Bandits Demand N40 Trillion, 11 Hilux Vans, 150 Bikes As Ransom For Kaduna Victims
Bandits who abducted 16 residents from the Gonin Gora region of Kaduna State have demanded 40 trillion naira as ransom for their victims.
Naija News reports that apart from the huge monetary demand, the bandits also asked for 11 Hilux vans and 150 motorcycles in exchange for the 16 persons they are holding captive.
This development was confirmed to newsmen by a community leader, John Yusuf, who said the bandits got in touch with the victims’ families and asked for the items.
The community leader narrated that the bandits invaded the community two times within a week.
He lamented the vast bushes bordring the community and Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of the state and appealed for the establishment of a military based in to check the activities of the criminals.
That’s the top Nigerian newspaper headlines for today. Read more Nigerian news on Naija News. See you again tomorrow.
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