By Salif Atojoko

President Bola Tinubu has directed that all projects that require additional funding, especially major projects of the Ministry of Works, be reviewed to ensure probity, proficiency and diligence in execution.

Alhaji Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information and National Orientation, said this while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, on Wednesday.

He said the Council decided to step down projects under the ministry of works inherited by the Tinubu administration, which required cost adjustments and variation.

He said the President directed that the memos presented to the Council by Mr David Umahi, Minister of Works, be looked at once again so that there would be further deliberation at the next council meeting.

He explained that the idea was to re-examine, especially those parts that required augmentation or review.

He said the Minister of Works was directed to work with the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning and the Minister of Finance to look at those projects again and bring them strictly in line with budgetary provisions.

According to him, where there is a necessity for additional funding, this will be brought back to the Council meeting next time for further deliberation.

He said the Council also discussed the National Council on Procurement, which had not been effective in the last 17 years.

Consequently, he said the President had submitted a bill to the National Assembly, which had scaled through the first reading at the House of Representatives.

“The whole idea is to ensure that we have a robust National Council on Procurement that will look at all aspects of procurement, and to bring every project into the fiscal financial discipline that the President is always talking about,” said the minister.

He said there was also a discussion on the report by the Daily Trust Newspaper. “Recall that we have commented about this in the past and the position of the government on that report.

“The Federal Government insists that the report on the LGBT or the so-called Samoa Agreement was misleading, it was false and it was designed to create confusion in the land.

“My ministry has also briefed the Federal Executive Council on all the steps that we have taken, including writing to the industry’s own Ombudsman with a view to drawing the attention of Daily Trust Newspapers to that very misleading report,” he said.

He said that the Council expected the industry’s Ombudsman to look at the issue dispassionately, and that the Council would be patient to await the report of the Ombudsman.

“But suffice it to say that the Federal Government views that report or that story by the Daily Trust Newspaper very seriously and is urging members of the Nigerian press to please report responsibly in the interest of our country.

“The Council also reiterated its commitment to media freedom and freedom of expression in this country.

“Like we have said over time, there is no intention whatsoever for the administration of President Bola Tinubu to gag the press.

“More than ever before, the government is committed to ensuring that the media will continue to operate in an environment that is very friendly and supportive of their work as a strong pillar for the continuous enthronement of democracy in our land.

“But like we have said over and over, we call on the Nigerian media to please show restraint in the kind of reporting that they also provide Nigeria.

“So that fake news, misinformation, or disinformation will have no place in our society,” said Idris.

Sen. Abubakar Bagudu, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, explained further that President Tinubu, in line with the desire to enhance more fiscal discipline and further demonstrate to Nigerians his commitment to serving them better, raised the issue of the reconciliation between the Appropriation Act, Public Procurement law and the Fiscal Responsibility Act.

“The FEC has set up a committee under the chairmanship of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice to review the Public Procurement Act.

“The President directed that all ministries, departments and agencies should review their intended procurement as provided for in the appropriation.

“Where there are gaps between appropriated sums and sums required to execute projects, that can be brought to the attention of both the Ministry of Budget and National Planning and Federal Ministry of Finance.

“Such that the memo that the cabinet secretariat will provide to the FEC, will have clarity of where funding is expected to come from and recommendation so as to guide effectively the Federal Executive Council decision,” said Bagudu.

Mr Lateef Fagbemi, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, said the disturbing report by Daily Trust, was being handled by the Federal Government because, “we are conscious of press freedom and if you notice, this administration has not and will not tamper with press freedom.

“And it will not, particularly because if you know the President, he has been an ardent supporter and believer in press freedom, in fact that is what got him up to this point.

“He is conscious of that, not only press freedom, but fundamental human rights as enshrined in the constitution,” said Fagbemi. (NAN)

Edited by Abiemwense Moru

By Philip Yatai

The National Boundary Commission (NBC), says it is creating platforms to promote peaceful coexistence among communities living along interstate boundaries.

The Director-General of the commission, Mr Adamu Adaji, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday.

“We have come up with a concept of what we call “local platform for promotion of interstate boundaries.

“We have notified the affected local government areas on both sides, then created a kind of local platform where they will engage in the promotion of peaceful coexistence and the appreciation of the essence of boundaries.

“So, we are going to do that for almost all the boundaries.

“We are also going to intensify efforts in terms of awareness creation among communities along our various boundaries and engage the community members through workshops, training and seminars,” he said.

Adaji said that the commission had organised zonal workshops on cross-border cooperation for all the six geo-political zones, adding that plans were underway to organise similar gatherings, targeting fewer states.

He said, “we want to engage the states that have boundary issues and create a workshop that will bring people from the states concerned to dialogue properly.

“This, in the long run, will strengthen cross-border cooperation.”

Adaji said that a similar initiative has been created at the level of international boundaries, where administrators along international boundaries were being engaged.

He added that the administrators were being encouraged to engage their counterparts on the other side for the promotion of peaceful coexistence.

According to him, the move is helping to douse tension, exchange of intelligence information.

“Such collaboration, cooperation, exchange of information and early warning systems is helping to address insecurity and threat to national security.

“So, we want to create that kind of scenario along our internal boundaries.”

He said that the commission also planned to organise a high-level cross-border cooperation workshop on the Nigeria-Benin International border, because of the tension compared to other international boundaries.

The D-G said that the workshop would be attended by ministers of both countries, experts, academics and other stakeholders.

He said that discussion at the workshop would cover areas of cultural, economic, and security cooperation so that the two countries could be on the same page. (NAN)

Edited by Sadiya Hamza

By Philip Yatai

The National Boundary Commission (NBC) has called for stronger cooperation from the States and Local Governments to strengthen interstate boundary management in the country.

Mr Adamu Adaji, the Director-General of the commission, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday .

Adaji particularly stressed the need to prioritise the establishment of functional state and local governments’ boundary committees.

He explained that the National Boundary Commissions Act, 2006 provided for the establishment of a boundary commission at the federal level, State Boundary Committee at the state level and Local Government Boundary Committee at local level.

He said that the three tiers of boundary management structure were supposed to work as a system to be able to drive the process of boundary management.

He noted the deficiencies in the constitution of functional boundary committees at the state and local government levels.

This, according to him, is partly responsible for the slow pace of progress in addressing boundary disputes and strengthening boundary management.

“For the state boundary committees, we can say about half of the 36 states have constituted, but not much has been achieved at the local government level.

“With the engagements we are making with the states now, we’re beginning to underscore the importance of constituting a functional local boundary committee.

“This is because, for every boundary issue, a committee is involved and that committee can be identified as a component of a particular local government before it gets to a state,” Adaji said.

The D-G said that the local boundary committee, if constituted, would handle boundary issues at the local government level, assemble necessary facts, documents, community positions and transmit to the State Boundary committee.

He further said: “The State Boundary Committee will now aggregate the submissions from the local governments to establish a state position.

“This is so because, for any interstate boundary issue, there may be many local boundary committees that are involved.

“So, if the local government boundary committees are properly structured and made functional, they will contribute towards enhancing the positions of the states vis-à-vis the submissions to the national boundary commission.

“This will at least ensure collective management and resolution of interstate boundary disputes.” (NAN)

Edited by Sadiya Hamza

By Reporters

“Laws without enforced consequences are merely suggestions,” Ron Brackin, an Investigative journalist and author of international bestseller, “Son of Hamas’’, once said.

The quote by Brackin translates to the fact, any law made with no effective mechanism to ensure its compliance is like a toothless bulldog that can’t bark, but cannot bite.

Organised labour and Nigerian workers are anxiously awaiting President Bola Tinubu’s executive bill on a new minimum wage to the National Assembly amidst the refusal of some state governors to implement the N30,000 minimum wage signed into law in 2019.

It is pertinent to note that workers, in no fewer than 15 states across the country and 70 per cent private organisations are yet to implement the old wage of N30,000.

The states yet to implement the minimum wage, in defiant of the 2019 Act, are, Abia, Bayelsa, Delta, Enugu, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Gombe, Niger, Borno, Sokoto, Anambra, Imo, Benue, Taraba and Zamfara.

While the N30,000 minimum wage law was not implemented, a report by BudgiT, a Civil Society Organisation, revealed that the 36 states of the federation grew their revenue by 28.95 per cent from N5.12 trillion in 2021 to N6.6 trillion in 2022.

“Put together, the Internally Generated Revenue of the 36 states appreciated by 12.98 per cent from N1.61 trillion in 2021 to N1.82 trillion in 2022 denoting a strengthened domestic revenue mobilisation capability,” BudgiT’ report says.

Similarly, since the inception of  President Tinubu’s administration and the removal of subsidy on petroleum products, revenue accruing to the states have witnessed tremendous growth.

Specifically, statutory allocations from the Federal Account Allocation Committee to the 36 states and 774 local government areas from July 2023 to Dec. 2023, increased to N3.34 trillion post-fuel subsidy era.

In 2024, the statutory allocations to states, from the budget approval for the year, is projected to increase by 65 per cent.

With the unprecedented huge increase in revenues accruing to states and local government councils, stakeholders have said that the excuse of paucity of funds for non-payment of minimum wage, by the recalcitrant states was not tenable.

They contended that the argument by governors that most of the states were heavily indebted, due to loans taken by their predecessors, was also not acceptable.

According to the stakeholders, with the untold hardship brought about by fuel subsidy removal and floating of the Naira, the state governors should see the justifications for implementing the minimum wage.

They challenged the state governors to justify the increased allocations by ending the hardship and widespread pains of Nigerians

In a recent interview, human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, said that both the federal and state governments have the ability to pay the minimum wage provided looted funds are recovered.

“The state governments that are saying they have no money to pay, the money is there.

“All they need, including the Federal Government, is to muster the political will to collect and recover money either looted or withheld from the Federation Account,” he said.

Corroborating Falana, an academia, Dr Olabode Ojoniyi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the governments and even, the private sector can pay any minimum wage, if corruption is tackled and wastages minimised

Ojoniyi, the Director, Centre for Wole Soyinka Studies, University of Abuja, said governors should put in place cost-cutting measures to enable them to pay a new minimum wage to their workers.

According to him, spending on frivolities and the bogus and unnecessary advisers, special advisers, senior special advisers and personal assistants must be cut down.

Ojoniyi stressed that the governments cannot waste their resources on frivolities and turn around to claim they do not have money to implement what concerns the ordinary man on the street.

He also challenged the governors to think outside the box, by identifying and investing in ventures that will boost the internally generated revenues of their states.

“There should be deliberate policies to revolutionise agriculture and related ventures where states have comparative advantages.

“In some of the states where there are natural resources deposit, mining should be regulated in such a way that revenue should accrue to the states’ coffer,” he said

Ojoniyi also stressed the need for a conscious workforce that would be ready to protect their rights, at all cost.

“The problem is that we don’t have a conscious workforce and citizens that can take decisive but legitimate actions to compel the states to pay the minimum wage that will benefit the citizens.

“Even when they are fully aware that billions of Naira is being stolen by government officials on a daily basis, they are too docile to take actions that will make the states pay their legitimate wages.

“The only solution is for the workforce and the citizens to rise and fight for their rights. Until they do so, politicians will continue to take them for granted,’ he said.

A civil servant, Mrs Sarah Uwem said, if the governors prioritise the interest of workers in their states, paying a minimum of, at least N100,000, should not be a challenge.

According to her, no governor has accounted for the security votes running into billions of naira which they receive monthly.

She noted that, if governors could spend so much on their personal and immediate family members’ security, it is insensitive for them to refuse to pay a wage that can only put food on the tables of workers.

Uwem noted that in other climes, there is no fixed wage. Rather, a worker’s wage is attached to the purchasing power.

She said it is done in a way that, If the inflation has gone up, worker’s wage is adjusted automatically to sustain purchasing power.

Uwem, however, rejected the call in certain quarters that the federal government should withhold the monthly allocations of states that refused to pay minimum wage.

“Yes, I learnt of the call for the seizure of their allocations. That might aggravate the hardship the people are already facing.

“Seizing allocations to the state is not a wise idea, let the government take other steps to stop it or find ways to punish those governors,” she suggested.

Speaking on other options available to compel states to pay the statutory minimum wage, a senior lawyer, Mr Oba Maduabuchi, SAN, said that the organised labour can approach the court for redress.

Maduabuchi said minimum wage is guaranteed by constitutional provision and it is not optional for any state when a figure is legislated upon by the national Assembly.

“You will see that, anytime the labour wants to go on strike, the Federal Government will run to Industrial Court to get a restraining order.

“When workers disobeyed such an injunction, we have seen instances where they were sanctioned with,  no work, no pay.

“It is the same thing, when a state government fails to pay, the labour unions can go to court and also get judgement and execute the order of the court when it is given,” he said.

Citing Section 6 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Maduabuchi said the judiciary is set up to determine the rights and liabilities of all persons.

“Governments also include persons, and the court hears those cases whether it is against individuals, corporate bodies, governments or National Assembly. You can take them to court.”

He said the minimum wage law is in No. 34 of the Exclusive Legislative List, which only the Federal Government can legislate on it.

The lawyer said the issue of immunity cannot stop the governors from being sued for refusal to comply with the law.

“It is not that you cannot sue a governor, but you cannot bring a personal suit against a governor.

“You can file a legal action against a governor of a state; but not against him in person,” he explained.

Another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr Abdul Ibrahim, said it was high time organised labour rose up to the occasion, if any governor decided not to implement the minimum wage.

Ibrahim said some of the governors get away with their non-compliance with the wage law because they are not being held accountable for wrongdoings

He said one of the ways to ensure its implementation is to vote out any governor who fails to comply with the payment, during the election year.

“This is because most citizens are not alive to their responsibilities because if you hold the government accountable and our votes actually count, then you will remove any governor that is not paying and vote in who is ready to come and pay.

“But between you and I, you also know that most of the time, during elections, they buy votes and that is why this has been difficult.

“So, these are some of the challenges of the kind of democracy we are practising in this country, where vote buying is the order of the day.

“They manipulate  documents and figures and at the end of the day, the court will say, well, it is for you to prove,” he said.

No doubt, the enforcement of minimum wage laws in Nigeria is at best, weak.

Therefore, to rescue the nation’s minimum wage law from being ineffectual, the national assembly must legislate a realistic wage and tighten the noose of the Act from being flouted without consequences.(NAN)

Edited by Rotimi Ijikanmi

By Joan Nwagwu

The International Labour Organisation has urged journalists to create awareness to combat the menace of child labour in the country.

Dr Vanessa Phala, ILO Country Director for Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone, said this at a three-day Communication Training Workshop for Media Practitioners on Friday in Akwanga, Nasarawa State.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workshop is on elimination of child labour.

The training was organised by ILO, funded by the U.S. Department of Labour through the Action against Child Labour in Agriculture in West Africa (ACLAWA) project, and the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Phala, represented by Dr Agatha Kolawole, Project Coordinator of ILO’s ACLAWA, said child labour had cast a long shadow across Nigerian communities, particularly within the agricultural sector.

According to her, this is driven by poverty; families often rely on children to contribute to the family’s well-being and survival.

“Children often have to work under hazardous conditions, sacrificing their education, health and childhood for meager wages.

“This not only violates their fundamental rights but also hinders their potential and perpetuates cycles of vulnerability, “she said

She said that the 2021 Global Child Labour report released by ILO and UNICEF, indicated a global increase of child labour prevalence by 8.4 million to reach a staggering 160 million.

She said globally, the agriculture sector accounts for 70 per cent of child labourers.

According to her, nearly 28 per cent of children aged five to 11 years and 35 per cent aged 12 to 14 years in child labour are out of school.

Phala said that the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) launched the Nigeria Child labour survey report conducted in 2022 which corroborates the global trend.

She said the media plays a pivotal role in combating child labour by raising awareness and mobilising public opinion against this pervasive issue.

“Through investigative journalism, documentaries and news reports, the media sheds light on the often hidden and harsh realities faced by child labourers around the world.

“By bringing these stories to the forefront, the media educates the public and policymakers about the scale and severity of child labour, thereby creating a sense of urgency and a call to action.

“This heightened awareness is crucial for fostering a societal consensus that child labour is unacceptable and must be eradicated,“she said.

She said media coverage can pressure governments and corporations to implement and enforce stricter laws and policies to protect children from exploitation

Phala added that in addition to raising awareness, the media serves as a platform for advocacy and education, empowering communities to take a stand against child labour.

She commended the U.S. Department of Labour for funding the ACLAWA project.

Mrs Tessy Odoh, Head, Child Labour, Forced Labour, Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery Unit, Inspectorate Department, Ministry of Labour and Employment said the training was apt.

Odoh said that the Federal government had put in place some policies to mitigate the menace of child labour.

She said that Nigeria had ratified and domesticated the ILO conventions 182, 138, 29, among others.

Mr Christian Appolos, a journalist with the Nigerian Tribune Newspaper, who spoke to NAN, said the training had boosts his knowledge on the issues of child labour.

“I see the training as a targeted effort to the campaign for the eradication of Child Labour,”he said.

Other journalists who participated in the workshop pledged their continued commitments to doing reports on child labour.(NAN)

Edited by Joseph Edeh

By Salisu Sani-Idris

Helpline Social Support Initiative, an NGO, in partnership with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Embassy in Nigeria, shared meat during the Eid el-Kabir to women, vulnerable groups and persons living with disabilities in the FCT.

Dr Jumai Ahmadu, Founder of the initiative, who made this known on Wednesday, thanked the UAE Embassy for its kindness and dedication to making a positive impact in the FCT.

Ahmadu said that the gesture demonstrates the embassy’s commitment to community support through the spreading of joy and compassion to those in need.

She also commended the embassy for identifying with the initiative, saying ” this is the third year it is supporting the needy in Abuja and its environs with this gesture.”

” Their generous contribution of fresh meat donations benefited our women and individuals living with disabilities, spreading joy and compassion to those in need.

” This marks the third consecutive year of their support, which has made a significant difference in the lives of our beneficiaries, including the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

” We are grateful for their kindness and dedication to making a positive impact in our community.

” Thank you to the UAE Embassy for your unwavering support and to our team for their tireless efforts in serving our community.”

She noted that Eid el Kabir was an opportunity and occasion to put smiles on the faces of the less privileged, especially women.

Ahmadu, therefore, called on other relevant organisations at all levels to go beyond “funfairs that characterised every festivities and use such occasions to assist the vulnerable in the society. (NAN)

Edited by Sadiya Hamza