Members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Kaduna, Edo, and Cross River states took measures to ensure strict compliance with the union’s two-day warning strike beginning on Tuesday (today). The NLC President, Joe Ajaero, announced the warning strike last Friday in protest against the Federal Government’s failure to address the challenges caused by the removal of fuel subsidies. President Bola Tinubu had announced in his May 29 inaugural speech that “fuel subsidy is gone“, which has since led to fuel prices as much as tripling nationwide and a rising cost of living. Workers in both public and private sectors in Kaduna State joined their counterparts across the country in the two-day nationwide strike.   Activities at most government ministries, departments and agencies in the state capital were grounded as workers stayed away from their offices in compliance with the NLC directive. When Channels Television visited the Kaduna State Secretariat, where most of the ministries and other government agencies are located, it was observed that the main gate was under lock and key while the offices were deserted. The strike also affected business activities as all commercial banks and other financial institutions did not open, a situation that left bank customers stranded. It was the same situation at Kaduna State High Court where the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) locked the court premises and barred the staff, litigants and even lawyers from gaining access to the court premises. Power supply in Kaduna was also disrupted following the withdrawal of services by the staff of Kaduna Electric. While listing some of the reasons for embarking on the two-day strike, the Kaduna State NLC chairman, Ayuba Suleiman, warned that the union would declare an indefinite industrial action should the Federal Government fail to address the suffering of workers and other Nigerians due to the petrol subsidy removal. # Similarly, the NLC in Edo State barred entrance into the state high court premises in compliance with a two-day warning strike. The election petitions tribunals for the National Assembly and state House of Assembly had scheduled judgements in two petitions for today but they have been adjourned till Thursday. In the same vein, Cross River State workers participated in the nationwide industrial action. Speaking shortly after a tour across various ministries in Calabar to ensure they remained locked, the NLC Chairman, Gregory Olayi, explained that the strike was a way of communicating the economic effects of the fuel subsidy removal on the people.

  Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), on Tuesday, nabbed some officials of State Emergency Management Agency diverting palliatives meant for the citizens to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal. Some of the suspects arrested at a popular market in Lafia, Nasarawa State capital where the items were being resold included officials of Nasarawa State Emergency Management Agency (NASEMA) and their accomplices Spokesman of the secret police, Peter Afunanya, who disclosed the development to journalists in Abuja, explained that some of the diverted items were recovered from the suspects Afunanya called on members of the public who may have information relating to the emerging trend to report same to the relevant security agencies for necessary action, saying the culprits would be punished according to laws. “The Department of State Services (DSS) has received reports from some State Governments relating to diversion or sale of palliatives meant for their citizens. “Consequently, the Service undertook investigations in that regard and has recovered some of the items as well as apprehended the suspects,” the DSS spokesman noted. He noted that while their operation was ongoing in other states, the service has already intercepted a suspected criminal syndicate in Nasarawa State responsible for the diversion and sale of the palliatives meant for the vulnerable in the place. Daily Trust reports that the federal government had a few weeks ago shared thousands of bags of rice, a staple food, across 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory in order to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal, particularly on the vulnerable citizens.

  A former Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, on Tuesday, said the protest that trailed the fuel subsidy removal during the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2012 was due to political interests. Fayemi said this in his keynote address delivered at a national dialogue organised to celebrate the 60th birthday celebration of the founding National Secretary of Alliance for Democracy and Fellow, Abuja School of Social and Political Thought, Professor Udenta Udenta in Abuja. The programme was attended by Jonathan, former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili; former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, among others. The PUNCH reports that on January 1, 2012, President Goodluck announced the removal of fuel subsidy and adjusted the pump price of petrol from N65 per litre to N141. The decision sparked mass protests, tagged ‘Occupy Nigeria’ across major cities of the country. The price was later re-adjusted to N97, after more than a week of protests. Petrol price was later reduced to N87 in 2015. Jonathan faced serious backlash for the fuel price adjustment, especially from leaders of the All Progressives Congress, who were then in different opposition parties, including the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, Congress for Progressives Congress, All Nigeria Peoples Party, and All Progressive Grand Alliance. While condemning what he described as the “winners take all” style of Nigeria’s democracy, Fayemi said the challenges facing the nation today cannot be solved unless the country embraced proportional representation, where the spoils of elections are shared between contestants. According to him, the last time Nigeria experienced economic development was during Jonathan’s administration Fayemi said, “Today, I read former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s interview in The Cable saying our liberal democracy is not working and we need to revisit it, and I agree with him. We must move from the political alternatives. I think we are almost on a dead end of that. “What we need is alternative politics and my own notion of alternative politics is that you can’t have 35 per cent of the vote and take 100 per cent. It won’t work! We must look at proportional representation so that the party that is said to have won 21 per cent of the votes will have 21 per cent of the government. Adversary politics bring division and enmity. “All political parties in the country agreed and they even put in their manifesto that subsidy must be removed. We all said subsidy must be removed. But we in ACN at the time, in 2012, we know the truth Sir, but it is all politics. “That is why we must ensure that everybody is a crucial stakeholder by stopping all these. Let the manifesto of PDP, APC and Labour Party, be put on the table and select all those who will pilot the programme from all parties.”

  The National and State House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Kano has dismissed the petition filed before it by Umar Abdullahi Ganduje, son of the All Progressives Congress (APC) national chairman. Ganduje who contested but lost the February 25 parliamentary election in Rimin Gado, Dawakin Tofa and Tofa Federal Constituency had challenged the victory of Tijjani Abdulqadir Jobe, his New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) rival. The three-man panel of judges led by I. P Chima dismissed the petition for lack of merit, saying the petitioner couldn’t prove the case beyond reasonable doubt. The Tribunal averred that the petitioner has failed to present sufficient evidence to support the allegation during the conduct of the election. The judge thereafter awarded the fine of N200,000 against the petitioner to be paid to the respondents individually.

  India’s parliament is considering renaming the country during the upcoming special session scheduled for September 18-22, India Times, a local media outfit, reports. There have been growing clamour to rename the country as Bharat — an acronym for “Bring Harmony, Amity, Reconciliation And Trust”. The country’s government officials have also begun to gradually apply the changes. Official G20 dinner invitations from Droupadi Murmu, Indian president, were sent under the name of ‘President of Bharat’ instead of the usual ‘President of India’. Members of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have also come out in support of renaming the country “Bharat”. On Tuesday, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam chief minister, said renaming the country would prove that India is marching towards civilisation. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Amitabh Bachchan, Bollywood actor, also referred to India as Bharat. Some in the country argue that the name ‘India’ is a symbol of “colonial slavery” and “should be removed from the constitution”. “The British changed Bharat’s name to India. Under Article 1, the Constitution states: ‘India, that is Bharat’. Our country has been known by the name ‘Bharat’ for thousands of years… it is this country’s ancient name and is found in ancient Sanskrit text,” the Rajya Sabha, the country’s upper house of parliament, said.

  The two-day warning strike embarked on by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) recorded partial compliance in some parts of the country on its first day. The NLC had last week declared a two-day warning strike over the impact of petrol subsidy removal on the masses. Labour had accused the federal government of abandoning negotiations with its members. The congress also said the government has failed to implement some of the resolutions reached at previous meetings. On Monday, the National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE) said its members would join the industrial action. Reacting to the development, Simon Lalong, minister of labour and employment, appealed to the NLC to suspend the strike. Lalong also pleaded with the NLC to give the government some time to settle and address the issues on the ground. On the first day of the strike, commercial activities in most cities across Nigeria continued apace. At the Lekki Phase 1 area of Lagos, some banks were open to customers while some fillings stations were seen attending to motorists. Workers at the Ikeja distribution company in the Alausa area of the state were locked out of their offices while civil servants at the Lagos secretariat were seen going about their normal duties. In Kaduna, government offices, banks and other financial institutions were shut in compliance with the industrial action. In Edo, the NLC barred entry into the state high court premises while in Rivers, civil servants were seen at the state secretariat.

  The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has said that it has advised corps members against embarking on night journeys. Eddy Megwa, the NYSC Director of Press and Public Relations, stated this in an interview with Channels TV. He spoke on the backdrop of eight corps members who were abducted by gunmen along a highway in Zamfara State on August 19. The corps members were travelling from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, to Sokoto State en route Zamfara State, to take part in the mandatory national service. He said the corps members might not have been abducted if they had adhered to the corps’ warning against travelling beyond 6pm. Megwa, however, said that the NYSC management was making efforts ensure the safe release of the abducted corps members. He also urged prospective and serving corps members to adhere to the NYSC’s safety guidelines, including avoiding night journeys. He said, “Let not look at the NYSC as if we are living in a different world. NYSC is part of Nigerian society. You and I know the kind of security situation we have in the country, it is not selective, some students are kidnapped at a point, government officials, even young children at primary and nursery schools are kidnapped. So NYSC or corps members are not living in a different world, but we have made it categorically clear. We told our corps members please don’t travel in the night. In their call up letters, we stated this clearly. We said please anywhere you are, once it is 6pm cut short your trip. “Find a park, police station, military barracks or corps lodge or anywhere you think is safe. Park and continue your journey tomorrow. “Now this issue in question, they got to that point around 8pm and that Funtua road is very deadly. In fact all passengers the moment they get to that place by 6pm they parked but this driver continued with his trip. Per chance they did not travel at night, per chance they slept at a safe place at 6pm, all these issues we are talking about wouldn’t have happened. However, it has happened and it is our responsibility and responsibility of Nigerians to get ensure we get them back safe and good. “There are security measures we put in place to make sure that such issues will not happen. When you go to our orientation camps, we have our security modalities that are put in place to ensure security bridges does not occur while in orientation camps. NYSC is very proactive, even before the commencement of the orientation camps we made publications in traditional media, we told them specifically please do not travel in the night, the management has done everything that they need to do.”

  Femi Falana, human rights lawyer, says some of the people blackmailing the judiciary on the presidential election petitions are “first time voters”. During an interview on Channels Television on Monday, Falana said he is worried about the widespread impression that the presidential election tribunal is the end of the process. On Monday, the tribunal fixed September 6 for judgment on the petitions challenging the victory of Tinubu in the February 25 election. The Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have approached the tribunal to challenge President Bola Tinubu’s victory. Advertisement Over the past few months, conversations on the presidential election tribunal have been regarded as a threat to the judiciary in certain quarters. Asked to react on the issues bordering on the workings of the tribunal, Falana said this is the first time the judiciary will be witnessing “such level of blackmail and intimidation” on election petitions since the colonial era. The human rights lawyer queried the reasons behind the “cheap blackmail” of the judiciary since parties can still approach the supreme court after the tribunal’s verdict on Wednesday. We have been having election petitions since the colonial era, but none has attracted such level of blackmail and intimidation of the judiciary,” he said. “I am worried that people give the impression that everything ends with the judgment of the court of appeal. “Any party that loses on Wednesday still has the opportunity to appeal to the supreme court. So, what is the basis for the cheap blackmail that is going on? “Some of the people involved are voting for the first time and they believe rightly or wrongly that their candidate must be declared the winner and I think that is what is going on.” Falana said the tribunal will deliver judgment based on the evidence before it, adding that the judges must not be intimidated.

  The Acting Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun has ordered the posting and redeployment of seven DIGs to various departments. This follows the promotion of deserving officers to the rank of Deputy Inspectors-General of Police by the Police Service Commission. According to a statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, DIG Bala Ciroma has been redeployed to head the Department of Finance and Administration, DIG Frank Emeka Mba to the Department of Training and Development, and DIG Habu A. Sani, to head the Force Intelligence Bureau. Others are DIG Usman D. Nagogo to Department of Logistics and Supply, DIG Daniel Sokari-Pedro, to Department of Information and Communication Technology, DIG Ibrahim Sani Ka’oje, to Department of Research and Planning, and DIG Ede Ayuba Ekpeji to head the Department of Operations. Similarly, the IGP has approved the posting of some Assistant Inspectors-General of Police to the Commands and Formations of the Force. AIG Oladimeji Yomi Olanrewaju has been posted as the Force Secretary, AIG Yekini Adio Ayoku, to head the Police Mobile Force, AIG Idris Dabban Dauda, to Zone 16 Yenagoa, AIG Oyediran Adesoye Oyeyemi, to head the Police Cooperative, and AIG Benjamin Okolo Nebeolisa, to AIG Department of ICT. The IGP charged the newly posted and redeployed senior officers to entrench professionalism in their respective Departments, Commands, and Formations while prioritizing human security and people-centric policing services.