General
Labour Unions May Resume Strike as Wage Negotiations Window Closes
By Adedapo Adesanya
There are strong indications that last week’s industrial strike that shut down the national grid, businesses, and schools over minimum wage negotiations may resume as the grace period to allow for talks near expiration.
Mr Chris Onyeka, an Assistant General Secretary of the NLC, speaking on Channels Television on Monday, said should the federal government and National Assembly fail to act on the demands of workers by Tuesday, the organs of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) will meet to decide on the resumption of the nationwide industrial action relaxed last week.
The labour unions claimed that the current N30,000 minimum wage was insufficient to support the well-being of the typical Nigerian worker and that the government should provide workers with a more competitive amount in light of the country’s current inflationary pressures, the consequences of removing petrol subsidies and the unification of the forex windows.
The strike was only halted when the President Bola Tinubu-led government assured the angry workers it wouldn’t go lower than N60,000 in the negotiations after a deadlock over the N494,000 request made by organised labour.
According to Mr Onyeka, “It is not our call. Our demand is there for them (the government) to look at and send an Executive Bill to the National Assembly, and for the National Assembly to look at what we have demanded, the various facts of the law, and then come up with a National Minimum Act that meets our demands.
“If that does not meet our demand, we have given the federal government a one-week notice to look at the issues and that one week expires tomorrow (Tuesday). If after tomorrow, we have not seen any tangible response from the government, the organs of the Organised Labour will meet to decide on what next.”
He also dismissed the N62,000 offered by the government or N100,000 proposed by economists, insisting that the target was around N250,000.
“We have never considered accepting N62,000 or any other wage that we know is below what we know can take Nigerian workers home. We will not negotiate a starvation wage, We have never contemplated N100,000 let alone N62,000.
“We are still at N250,000, that is where we are, and that is what we considered enough concession to the government and the other social partners in this particular situation.
“We are not just driven by frivolities but the realities of the marketplace; realities of things we buy every day; a bag of rice, yam, garri, and all of that,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill has extended the deadline for the submission of memoranda and position papers on the proposed legislation to Friday, August 21, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. West Africa Time.
In a statement signed by the Chief of Staff to the President and Chairman of the Presidential Working Group, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, the group said the extension was intended to ensure that interested individuals, institutions and organisations have adequate opportunity to make substantive contributions to the proposed legislation.
“The Presidential Working Group is committed to ensuring that the process of developing the National Policing Bill benefits from broad consultation and the informed perspectives of Nigerians and relevant stakeholders,” the statement read.
The proposed legislation is intended to provide the operational, administrative, institutional and funding framework necessary for an effective policing architecture that responds to Nigeria’s evolving security needs, while providing appropriate safeguards for accountability, professionalism and the protection of citizens’ rights.
“Given the significance of the proposed reform to the future of policing and internal security in Nigeria, the Working Group considers it important that stakeholders are afforded more opportunity to make substantive and technically sound contributions to the process,” the statement said.
The former lawmaker said legal practitioners, civil society organisations, security sector professionals, state governments, professional bodies, academics, experts and interested members of the public are encouraged to take advantage of the extended window to submit their memoranda and position papers, exclusively through the official National Policing Bill portal, nationalpolicingbill.com, on or before the new deadline.
According to him, developing an effective policing framework required careful consideration of a number of critical issues, including sustainable funding, command and control structures, recruitment and training standards, operational jurisdiction, inter-agency coordination, accountability mechanisms and safeguards against political interference or abuse.
“These considerations underscore the importance of robust stakeholder engagement in developing a framework that is effective, accountable, sustainable and responsive to the peculiar security needs of communities across the federation,” he added.
He noted that at the conclusion of its assignment, the Presidential Working Group will present a final, implementation-ready draft of the National Policing Bill for onward legislative processing.
The Presidential Working Group appreciated stakeholders who had already made submissions and encouraged others intending to participate in the process to take advantage of the extension.
The National Policing Bill portal went live on August 3, 2026, when Gbajabiamila first announced the public consultation window during a press briefing on the reform, at the time indicating that submissions would close after roughly two weeks.
The Working Group is expected to present the completed Executive Bill package to President Bola Tinubu for review on September 3, 2026.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says the prevailing insecurity in parts of the country is negatively affecting its operations and revenue generation.
The Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs and Zonal Coordinator, Zone B, Mrs Nsikak Umoh, disclosed this in Minna while inspecting the Niger/Kogi Area Command Headquarters and engaging with vehicle importers on the operational challenges confronting the command.
Mrs Umoh said insecurity was not peculiar to the Niger/Kogi Area Command, but affected several Customs formations across the North-West, including Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina and Zamfara states.
“The security challenge is not peculiar to only Niger/Kogi Area Command. The whole of North-West comprising Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina and Zamfara States, which are all under my command, are facing the same security challenge,” she said.
According to her, the security situation had exposed customs personnel to increasing threats, with some officers killed or injured in the course of performing their duties, adding that the development had forced some commands to scale down their operations or adopt more cautious approaches, thereby affecting revenue collection.
Mrs Umoh explained that the service was encouraging its officers to adopt intelligence-led operations to minimise risks while ensuring that legitimate Customs duties continued.
“But we are trying our best to encourage them to use an intelligence-based operating system to do their job, and that is why in most of the commands, we have a reduction in revenue collections,” she added.
The ACG also expressed concern over the impact of insecurity on the physical and psychological wellbeing of Customs personnel, noting that some officers had developed health complications, including hypertension, due to fear and stress associated with their duties.
Despite the security challenges, Umoh said the Niger/Kogi Area Command had continued to perform strongly in revenue generation, disclosing that the command had surpassed its monthly revenue target of N17 million, generating more than N200 million as of August 12.
She commended the officers and stakeholders in the command for sustaining revenue collection despite the difficult operating environment.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has recovered more than N115 billion in statutory levies owed to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by defaulting oil companies between 2021 and 2023.
The recovery comprises N76.883 billion and $81.076 million, according to an EFCC representative, Mr Francis Oka-Phillips Usani, who disclosed the figures before the Senate Committee on Public Accounts on Wednesday.
Mr Usani spoke while the committee was investigating the 2021–2023 Oil and Gas Sector Audit Report of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).
He said the EFCC investigated 43 oil companies over outstanding three per cent statutory levies payable to the NDDC.
According to him, 24 of the companies operating in the Niger Delta were found to have outstanding liabilities of N76,883,705,907.17 and $81,076,655, while the remaining 19 companies were cleared of any outstanding liability.
“At the commencement of the investigation, EFCC invited 43 oil companies, out of which 24 operating within the Niger Delta were found to have outstanding liabilities in the sums of N76,883,705,907.17 and $81,076,655.00, while the remaining 19 other oil companies were given a clean bill of health,” Mr Usani said.
The agent explained that following the investigation and pressure mounted by the commission, some of the affected companies paid their outstanding liabilities directly to the NDDC.
He said the direct payments amounted to N6.709 billion and $16.994 million.
Mr Usani further disclosed that of the funds recovered by the EFCC on behalf of the NDDC, N73.373 billion and $67.070 million had so far been released to the commission, noting that the balance of N3.510 billion and $14.005 million remained in the EFCC’s recovery account.
He, however, stated that the commission was also mindful of other possible outstanding statutory obligations and taxes payable to the federal government.
