Members of the Food, Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association of Nigeria has given the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) 14 days to reverse its ban on sachet alcohol. The association, an affiliate of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), issued the threat during a protest at the NAFDAC headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday. Members of the association threatened to increase protests across the Agency’s offices nationwide if nothing is done about it. The National President of the association, Jimoh Oyibo, led the protest and submitted a letter containing the demands of the union. According to Oyibo, the ban hurts the union, as most of its members work in the distilling and blending companies. On February 1, NAFDAC started the enforcement of the ban on alcoholic beverages in sachets, and glass bottles of 200ml and below. NAFDAC boss Mojisola Adeyeye, said as of January 31, 2024, no such beverages were registered with the NAFDAC.

  The Registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, Faruk Abubakar, on Tuesday, said an average nurse in the country earns not less than N135,000 monthly. Abubakar said this while speaking on the controversy surrounding the nurses’ certificate verification on Tuesday’s edition of Channels Television’s Morning Brief. Nurses under the aegis of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives staged the protest at the NMCN’s offices in Abuja and Lagos, respectively to express their displeasure over what they described as an attempt to hinder their freedom to pursue career opportunities, asking the council to address nurses’ welfare, salary scale, shortage of staff, and other rights. NMCN, in its revised guidelines, stated that applicants seeking verification of certificates from foreign nursing boards and councils must possess two years of post-qualification experience from the date of issuance of the permanent practising license. THE ROUND TABLE: RISING COST OF LIVING AND IMPACTS ON NIGERIANS0.00 / 0.00 The NMCN is the only legal, administrative, corporate, and statutory body charged with performing specific functions on behalf of the Federal Government to ensure the delivery of safe and effective Nursing and Midwifery care to the public through quality education and best practices. The council is mandated by law to regulate the standards of Nursing and Midwifery education and practice in Nigeria and to review such standards from time to time to meet the changing health needs of the society. Speaking on the TV programme, Abubakar said the council is not responsible for the remuneration of nurses in the country, but the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the NANNM are working towards improving the welfare of the nurses. “The issue of remuneration is not within the NMCN, it is the responsibility of the honourable minister of the ministry of health, and I want to make this clear to you, a few weeks ago, NANNM paid a courtesy visit to the honourable minister, and he has constituted a committee where all issues raised by the national association (will be addressed), including the welfare that you are talking about. “An average nurse that is engaged receives not less than N135,000, it depends on where they are working. Some of them receive up to N200,000. It depends on where they are working, whether at the national, state, or local government. I think this is the brief I can tell you. “I have to say that the FMoH is doing a lot and a committee is now being put by the FMoH to look at all the cases raised by the association on behalf of the nurses all over the country. I believe that will address the issue of welfare and the issue of remuneration they are talking about. “It is not the council’s responsibility to determine the remuneration of any nurse, the remuneration is also determined by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, which is the body responsible for determining that nationwide and nurses inclusive.”

  Russia declared Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas as “wanted” on criminal charges Tuesday in an unprecedented step against its Baltic neighbours. It was not immediately clear why Kallas, who has led Estonia since 2021, was listed as “wanted”. Relations between Moscow and EU member Estonia, which is home to a sizeable Russian minority, have remained tense since the end of the Cold War. Russia has frequently chided Estonia for removing Soviet-era war monuments, which Tallinn sees as unwelcome symbols of its occupation under the USSR. The Russian interior ministry’s database of wanted people showed Kallas as “wanted under the Criminal Code” without naming the charges, accompanied by a picture of the leader. There was no immediate reaction from Estonia. Earlier in February, Moscow summoned diplomats from its three Baltic neighbours after accusing them of trying to “sabotage” next month’s Russian presidential election. AFP

  Mobile internet access in Senegal was suspended on Tuesday for the second time this month, the communications ministry said, after authorities banned a march against the delay to February’s presidential election. President Macky Sall’s decision to push back the February 25 vote until December plunged Senegal into a crisis which has seen three dead amid clashes between protesters and security forces. “Due to the dissemination on social networks of several subversive hate messages that have already provoked violent demonstrations… mobile data is suspended this Tuesday 13 February,” the Ministry of Communication, Telecommunications and Digital Energy said in a statement.   Access to mobile data had already been temporarily restricted eight days ago when parliament backed Sall’s decision to postpone the election. This decision was severely criticised by rights activists and Senegal’s major international partners, including the United States and the European Union. Access was restored again on Wednesday. The move to cut mobile internet was a repeat of a move last June, where Senegal’s government restricted access amid high tensions in the country. The measure has become a common response to curb mobilisation and communication via social networks, strongly condemned by rights activists.

  Oluwole Oke, a member of the house of representatives, is proposing a bill to create three new states in the south-west geopolitical zone. Oke, who represents Obokun/Oriade federal constituency of Osun state, chairs the house committee on judiciary. The bill proposes to amend the first schedule, part I of the constitution to create three new states — Oke-Ogun, Ijebu, and Ife-Ijesa states. The draft bill proposes that Oke-Ogun state, with Iseyin as its proposed capital city, will comprise 12 LGAs. According to the bill shared with TheCable by Oke, Ijebu state, upon creation, will consist of nine LGAs with Ijebu Ode as its capital, while Ife Ijesa state is set to be composed of 11 LGAs, with Ile-Ife as its capital city. The bill, addressed to the clerk of the house of representatives and dated February 6, is expected to be listed for first reading. If the bill scales through and is passed into law, the south-west will have the highest numbers of states among the six geopolitical zones. Nigeria currently has 36 states created during the military era. LEGISLATIVE HURDLES The national assembly is currently amending the 1999 constitution. In January, Benjamin Kalu, deputy speaker of the house of representatives, said work on the amendment of the 1999 constitution would be completed in December 2025. Requirements for state creation and boundary adjustments are among the most challenging provisions in a constitutional amendment process. Section 8 (1) of the constitution stipulates that a new state can only be created if it is supported by at “least two-thirds majority of members (representing the area demanding the creation of the new state) in each of the following, namely — “(i) the Senate and the House of Representatives. (ii) the House of Assembly in respect of the area”. “(iii) And the local government councils in respect of the area, is received by the National Assembly; (b) a proposal for the creation of the State is thereafter approved in a referendum by at least two-thirds majority of the people of the area where the demand for creation of the State originated; “(c) The result of the referendum is then approved by a simple majority of all the States of the Federation supported by a simple majority of members of the Houses of Assembly. “(d) The proposal is approved by a resolution passed by two-thirds majority of members of each House of the National Assembly.” No state has been created since 1999 when the country returned to democratic rule.