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Breaking : At last, FG and Labour agree on ₦70,000 as minimum wage

In a landmark development, the Federal Government and Organised Labour have agreed on a new national minimum wage of N70,000, a significant increase from the current N30,000.
The newly agreed minimum wage was reached on Thursday when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu met with the leadership of the organized Labour, led by presidents of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) at the State House, Abuja, the second meeting within a week.
Before reaching the agreement, the two sides, being government and the organised private sector on one side, and the organised Labour on the other, had held a long-drawn series of negotiations, starting with the Constitution of the Bukar Goni-Aji-led Tripartite Committee on New National Minimum Wage.
While the negotiations were ongoing, the employers’ side (federal/sub-national governments/OPS) had offered varying amounts, starting with ₦48,000 to ₦54,000 to ₦57,000 to ₦60,000 to ₦62,000 and finally to the agreed ₦70,000.
On the side of Labour, the leadership of the workers started negotiation with a demand for ₦615,000 then lowered it further to ₦500,000 to ₦497,000 to ₦250,000 and finally agreed to ₦70,000.
However, disclosing details of the meeting and the final agreement to journalists at the State House, Abuja, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, described the conclusion of the meeting as “a happy day for Nigeria”.
Read Also: NLC urges FG to pay SSANU, NASU withheld four-month salaries
According to Idris, besides the agreement to the ₦70,000 minimum wage, the government has also agreed to addressing the disagreement over the withheld salaries of university workers’ unions; the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU).
The government has also pledged massive investments in infrastructure and renewable energy, including the acquisition of more CNG buses to enhance Nigeria’s transition to cleaner energy, as well as expressing commitment to ensuring local government autonomy.
“Today’s a happy day for Nigeria. You’ll recall that last week we had a meeting here and the organized private sector. The sub-nationals have also held their various meetings with Mr. President following the submission of the tripartite agreement to Mr. President. Labour came last week, they had meetings with Mr. President, they asked for adjournment for a week to go and consult further. They did those consultations, they have come back today and we have met with Mr. President.
“We’re happy to announce today that both the federal government and organized Labour have agreed on an increase on the N62,000 minimum wage. The new national minimum wage that we expect Mr President to submit to the National Assembly for legislation is N70,000. But that is not all. There is also a boost, like Mr. President has assured, in ensuring that massive investment is going to be made in the area of infrastructure.
“There is also a deepening of the investment of the federal government in renewable energy. More money is going to go into the acquisition of more CNG buses, Nigeria is going to be more CNG compliant, according to the President. We’re moving in this transition to renewable and all other things that Mr. President has assured Labour; the issue of SSANU and NASU is also going to be looked at.
“We are happy, we are very thankful of the role that the Organised Labour has done today. They recognised the federal government’s role in ensuring that we have the local government autonomy, in also ensuring that both the Organised Labour and the government are on the same page today. They have seen the magnanimity of the President and today the leadership of Labour said they didn’t come here for negotiation, not at all. They came here in their deep sense of patriotism to ensure that Nigeria remains united, Nigeria becomes more prosperous.
“It is in that spirit that they are in agreement with what the federal government has done today. We want to thank Labour for their patriotism. We also want to thank Mr President, the federal government, the sub-nationals and organized private sector for going through this painstaking effort, by also ensuring that at the end of the day Nigeria is the winner for it all”, Idris said.
Corroborating the Information Minister’s brief, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, announced that organized Labour has agreed to the new minimum wage of N70,000 after the meeting with President Tinubu.
The agreement comes after labour leaders requested a one-week extension to consult with their members, following their initial meeting with the President last week.
According to Onyejeocha, the President adopted a fatherly approach, emphasizing the need for a review of the minimum wage policy every three years, rather than the current five-year cycle.
She further hinted that the President also directed the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, and the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, to review the issue of SSANU and NASU payments, with a waiver to pay the outstanding amounts.
She also said the President reassured Nigerians of his commitment to the country’s economic recovery and the welfare of citizens.
President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, said the Organised Labour agreed to the new national minimum wage of N70,000 because of the President’s willingness to review wages every three years, rather than the usual five-year cycle.
While acknowledging the economic situation, Ajaero expressed mixed feelings about the agreement but noted that the NLC will take the proposal back to their constituency for further discussion and buy-in.
The agreement marks a significant step forward in the ongoing negotiations between the government and labour leaders, with a promise of future reviews and incentives like the CNG scheme to alleviate the burden on Nigerian workers.
“Well, we’re here last week and we’re here now, what they have announced in terms of the amount of N70,000 happened to be where we are now for now, but the good thing about it is that we will not wait for another five years to come and review, rather than settling on a figure that we’ll wait for five years, it’s like we’ll have to now negotiate even two times within five years, with a view to going up. That is one of the reasons why we decided to reach where we are today, because of the proviso that we can review in the next three years.
“We came with other issues in the basket, like the issue of SSANU, NASU and others, especially with the affront by the Commissioner of Police of FCT, we brought it to Mr. President, and talked on the need for that matter to be addressed and magnanimously, he asked the agencies concerned to work out the modalities for the payment of those workers in the universities.
“So far, that’s where we are. Although he promised some incentives like the CNG, which will lessen the burden that the Nigerian workers are passing through, but you can see that we are taking in this with mixed feelings because of the situation of the economy, we will have to move ahead despite the situation and the negotiation can linger. Coming from 62 to 70 and then with the promise that we’ll come back soon to negotiate it.
“We’re taking it back to our constituency to see how we can get a buy-in. So that’s what has transpired this afternoon”, he said.
The TUC President, Festus Osifo, who also spoke to journalists, expressed satisfaction with President Tinubu’s intervention, especially with the proviso for review every three years.
He also commended the President’s promise to address the issues of SSANU and NASU, and emphasized the need for swift passage of the minimum wage bill by the National Assembly and urged that the student loan scheme be targeted at those who need it most, not just the children of the rich.
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BREAKING: By- Election, DSS arrests PDP agent with N30m cash for alleged vote-buying in Kaduna

The Department of State Services (DSS) and Police have arrested a suspected People’s Democratic Party (PDP) agent, Shehu Fantagi, with about N30 million allegedly earmarked for vote-buying ahead of today’s by-elections in Kaduna State.
Fatangi was picked up on Friday evening at a hotel in the Kaduna metropolis, where he was said to be coordinating the distribution of the funds meant to influence voters in the Chikun/Kajuru Federal Constituency election.
Reliable security sources confirmed that the suspect was caught in possession of cash running into tens of millions, allegedly intended to compromise the integrity of the polls.
The Kaduna State Police Command also confirmed the arrest.
Its spokesman DSP Mansir Hassan, in a statement on Saturday said: “In a sustained and collaborative effort by security agencies to ensure that the forthcoming by-elections in Kaduna State are conducted peacefully and without interference from criminal elements, operatives of the Nigeria Police Force in conjunction with the Department of State Services (DSS) have successfully apprehended vote buyer in Kaduna.”
According to him: “At about 0330hrs of today, arrested one Shehu Aliyu Patangi at a popular hotel located along Turunku Road in Kaduna metropolis and recovered a total cash sum of Twenty-Five Million, Nine Hundred and Sixty-Three Thousand Naira (₦25,963,000) from the suspects, believed to be earmarked for the purpose of inducing voters to compromise the electoral process.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect had planned to use the said amount to bribe eligible voters. On interrogation the suspect confessed to the crime and pleaded for leniency.
“The Commissioner of Police, CP RABIU MUHAMMAD psc, mni, expresses appreciation to the other sister agencies for the synergy and swift collaborative action. He warns, in the strongest terms, that anyone, regardless of status, found attempting to undermine the electoral process will face the full wrath of the law.
“The Kaduna State Police Command reassures residents of its commitment to providing maximum security before, during and after the elections, and calls on the good people of Kaduna State to go out and exercise their franchise peacefully and lawfully without fear or intimidation.”
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Bye-Election: Crisis Rocks Labour Party as Obi Directs Members to Vote for Other Party , Abure Says ‘Ignore Him’

The attention of the leadership of the Labour Party has been drawn to a statement by the party’s former presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, directing party members to cast their votes for another party in the August 16, 2025 bye-election. The party said that Obi’s directive is misleading, mischievous and delusional.
The party is however calling on all our faithful party members to ignore this malicious directive and go ahead with casting of their votes for the Labour Party and their candidates.
It is unfortunate that Obi has turned himself to an irony and a paradox in the Nigeria political space. He is now reputed to have elevated subterfuge in the game of politics and has of late been crying wolf where there is none. He has turned himself into “Uber” politician, not willing to take a position and stand by his decision. He has now booked a place for himself in the Guinness book of records as a person affiliated to many political parties pari pasu, all in his desperation to preside over Nigeria.
Nigerians should not forget in a hurry that it was Peter Obi that created the crisis in the Labour Party which he is now citing as a reason why people should not vote for the party. Peter Obi and Alex Otti the Governor of Abia State hosted the ill-fated and illegal expanded stakeholders meeting in Umuahia, September 4, 2024. He has also co-funded the crisis all these while and went as far as leading a protest match to INEC headquarters against his own party.
His desperation to control the soul of the party has made him go haywire.
A man that received so much goodwill from the party leadership but turned around to pay them with evil. This is why we have maintained that Peter Obi lacks the competence, character and capacity to actualise the vision of a new Nigeria.
What Obi does not know is that Labour Party is on the ballot and our candidates are contesting the election in spite of all his efforts to strangulate the Labour Party. The party unknown to him has done everything within the law to ensure that our candidates participate in the bye-election and of course in all other future election.
We are therefore encouraging our candidates, members and supporters across all the states where bye-election is holding to be focused and ensure that we carry out our civic duties by returning Labour Party and the candidates elected. Nigerians have come to know who Peter Obi is.
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Tinubu orders FIRS, Customs to review revenue deductions, Says Edun

President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday directed a review of deductions and revenue retention practices by Nigeria’s major revenue-generating agencies, in a bid to boost public savings, improve spending efficiency, and unlock resources for growth.
The agencies include the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Nigeria Customs Service, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
Tinubu gave the directive during the Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday in Abuja. The President’s directive was disclosed to journalists by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun.
According to Edun, President Tinubu specifically called for a reassessment of NNPC’s 30 per cent management fee and 30 per cent frontier exploration deduction under the Petroleum Industry Act. He tasked the Economic Management Team, chaired by Edun, to present actionable recommendations to FEC on the optimal way forward.
The President said the directive was part of efforts to sustain reforms that have dismantled economic distortions, restored policy credibility, enhanced resilience, and bolstered investor confidence.
According to him, these reforms have created a transparent, competitive business environment attractive to local and foreign investors in critical sectors such as infrastructure, oil and gas, health, and manufacturing.
Reaffirming the Renewed Hope Agenda, Tinubu said Nigeria’s goal of a $1tn economy by 2030 requires growth of at least seven per cent annually from 2027 — a target he described as “not just economic, but a moral imperative,” as higher growth is the surest path to tackling poverty.
He cited the July 2025 International Monetary Fund Article IV report, which he said endorsed Nigeria’s economic trajectory and the need for investment-led growth.
On grassroots empowerment, the President pointed to the Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme — a ward-based initiative covering all 8,809 wards across the country — designed to lift economically active citizens through micro-level poverty reduction strategies in collaboration with states, local governments, and private partners.
Tinubu noted that public investment accounts for just five per cent of Gross Domestic Product due to low savings, stressing that optimising “every available naira” is vital, especially under current global liquidity constraints.
Edun said macroeconomic indicators were improving, with a more stable exchange rate, easing inflation, rising revenues, and debt-to-GDP ratios now within range. He described savings as the foundation of investment and said the President’s directive aims to quickly raise public sector savings by reviewing deductions and retention practices.
Meanwhile, Edun said he presented two memoranda to Council — a $125m Islamic Development Bank financing for infrastructure in Abia State, covering 35 kilometres of roads in Umuahia and 126 kilometres in Aba; and a plan to refinance N4tn in outstanding electricity sector obligations.
The electricity debt resolution will be executed in phases, with the first phase expected within three to four weeks under the coordination of the Debt Management Office and other agencies.
According to the talking points by President Bola Tinubu obtained by our correspondent, he commended members of the Federal Executive Council for implementing bold reforms “that have dismantled longstanding distortions in our economy and restored policy credibility.”
Tinubu said the reforms have enhanced economic resilience, restored macroeconomic stability, created a transparent and competitive business environment, and bolstered investor confidence.
“As a result, our economy is now better positioned to attract both domestic and foreign private investment-investment that is critical to stimulating sustained growth, creating decent jobs, and lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty.
“Our Renewed Hope Agenda remains focused on achieving a $1tn economy by the year 2030. To realise this vision, we must now accelerate our efforts to achieve a minimum growth rate of 7.0 per cent by 2027,” Tinubu said.
According to him, stimulating higher growth is the only sustainable path to solving the poverty challenge in Nigeria. “The recent IMF Article IV Report, published in July 2025, also affirms this trajectory and underscores the importance of investment-led growth.
“In line with our commitment to inclusive development, I recently launched the Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme-a ward-based initiative covering all 8,809 wards across the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria.
“This programme is close to my heart. It is designed to empower active grassroots economic players, using a micro-level approach to tackle poverty. We aim to bring sub-national governments and private sector partners on board to ensure efficient and impactful implementation,” he stated.
He urged governors to accelerate growth by prioritising productivity-enhancing investments, strengthening food security, and deepening collaboration with local governments to address the poverty challenge and ensuring that no Nigerian is left behind.
Speaking on savings and investment as catalysts for growth, the President emphasized the critical role of savings in catalyzing investment and growth. “Currently, public investment as a share of GDP stands at a low 5.0 per cent, largely due to insufficient public savings.
“We must urgently review and optimize our savings. This includes enhancing spending efficiency and reviewing deductions from the Federation Account, such as the cost of collection by revenue agencies, such as FIRS, Customs, NUPRC, and NIMASA, etc.
“There is also the need to reassess the 30 per cent management fee and the 30 per cent frontier exploration deduction by NNPC based on the Petroleum Industry Act. We must optimise every available Naira to sustain our momentum and finance our growth trajectory-especially in a time of global liquidity constraints.
“Accordingly, I am directing the Economic Management Team, chaired by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, to conduct a comprehensive review of all deductions and revenue retention practices, and present actionable recommendations to this Council for an optimal way forward.”
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