Controversial social media critic, Martin Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, has been remanded in police custody until his next hearing, which is billed to be held next week Wednesday. Otse was reportedly arraigned at the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday for cyberbullying involving Nollywood actresses Iyabo Ojo and Tonto Dike, to which he pleaded not guilty. His lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, applied for bail, but the prosecution asked for more time to respond, leading the court to adjourn the bail hearing to May 29. Details later…

  Rt. Hon. Elvert Ekom Ayambem has been impeached as the Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly. The Speaker was impeached on Wednesday by 17 members of the house over allegations of misappropriation of funds. The impeachment motion was moved by Hon. Effiom Ekarika representing Calabar South 1 Constituency and seconded by Hon. Omang Charles Omang representing Bekwarra State Constituency. Rt Hon Elvert Ayambem was elected Speaker of the 10th Cross River State House of Assembly in June 2023. Ayambem represents Ikom 2 State Constituency in the Houses of Assembly. More to follow…

  Wednesday 22 May 2024 Only Presidential Ticket Can Make Obi Return To PDP –LP Ex-Campaign DG Fubara: I Didn’t Take Decisions In My First 8 Months As Governor Discos Generated N294bn As FG Paid N253.7bn Subsidy In Q4 2023 Despite Rising Kidnappings, DSS Director Says FCT Witnessing Improved Security Under Tinubu ISWAP Fighters Kill DPO In Borno 26.25% interest rate: Private sector fears loan repayment crisis Naira slide pushes Dangote diesel to N1,100/litre Atiku, Obi desperate, can’t be trusted with power – APC Petrol: Marketers fret as depot price rises to N710/litre in Lagos Gunmen kill 40, burn houses in Plateau community State institutions included in student loan scheme — NELFUND Reps differ with FEC on payment of toll gates at airports, seaports, railways Shettima: Govt’s tough options prevented economic downfall Experts differ with CBN over interest rate hike an hour ago NBS: Nigeria had 250,227 policemen in 2022 Labour rejects FG’s fresh offer of N54,000 minimum wage OPay, Moniepoint, Others To Resume Onboarding New Customers ‘In Months’ – CBN CBN Links FX Volatility To Seasonal Demands, Eyes Double Foreign Inflows Kano Assembly Moves to Amend Emirs Law Amid Calls For Sanusi’s Return Nnamdi Kanu Files Preliminary Objection Over Alleged Treasonable Felony UNIJOS ASUU Members Stage Protest Over Poor Welfare Visit a newspaper stand this morning, buy and read a copy for yourself…

  The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says mobile money operators including fintech firms like OPay, Palmpay, Kuda Bank, and Moniepoint will resume the enrolment of new customers “in another couple of months”. CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, stated this on Tuesday at the 295th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the apex bank in Abuja when the MPC jacked up interest rate from 24.75 per cent to 26. 25 per cent. The CBN chief said the apex bank has engaged many of the players on the need to strengthen their operations. Cardoso said to block money laundering and illicit flows, the apex bank brought up “remedial measures that will help that sector to tighten up on onboarding and even existing clientele base”. “I am confident that as time goes on, and hopefully in another couple of months, all these will be something of the past and then you will see that sector going back into what they’ve been known to do before, but certainly with a very stronger regulatory framework,” he said. In April, the apex bank stopped fintech companies from onboarding new customers, a move that has been seen as a clampdown on the financial sub-sector by the Cardoso-led CBN. When asked why the apex bank took the decision, the CBN chief said reports that the CBN has decided to clamp down on fintech firms are “furthest from the truth”. He said “the fintechs have not been singled out for any exceptional kind of treatment”, adding that the CBN remained proud of the exploits of fintech firms in the last number of year and the apex bank would continue to support and strengthen them. “However, regulation is very critical in a sector that seems to have grown so incredibly rapidly,” Cardoso said, citing illicit flows within the sub-sector. “More recently, we had course to take a deep dive look at the whole issue of illicit flows and money laundering particularly within the non-heavy regulated banking system and we all know some of the issues that came out with cryptos and some of the messages we put out after that, which of course, gave us some course to know that there is the need for heightened surveillance.” He said the apex bank has had major handshake with security agencies to identify the places to tighten regulations and surveillance in the sub-sector. Cardoso said, “For that reason, we were concerned with respect to how we saw the issue of anti-money laundering and illicit flows as they made their way within the various sub-sectors of the financial industry and we felt there was a need for us to take a breather and work with different players to strengthen regulations, not by any means to throw them out of business. “Let me re-emphasise that as at this point in time, we have not revoked the licenses of any of the fintech organisations.”

  Meeting on the ongoing negotiations on new minimum wage has been adjourned till Wednesday after the organised labour rejected the new N54,000 minimum wage proposal by the Federal Government, a highly reliable source who attended the meeting told our correspondent on Wednesday. The PUNCH had exclusively reported that the Federal Government upped its offer from its earlier proposed N48,000 to N54,000. Tuesday’s meeting came as a result of the walkout staged by members of the organised labour following the proposal of N48,000 as minimum wage by the Federal Government during last week’s meeting. During that meeting, the OPS had also proposed N54,000 while labour insisted on its N615,000 living wage demand. Our correspondent who spoke to sources who attended the follow-up meeting on Tuesday learnt that the Federal Government upped its offer from N48,000 to N54,000. “Well, during the meeting, the government increased its offer from N48,000 to N54,000. However, labour rejected that offer and the meeting has been adjourned till Wednesday,” a source who asked not to be named said. When asked if the government’s side was showing any sign of seriousness, the labour leader said, “No seriousness at all. Even state governors did not show up. Those who represented them, like Bauchi and Niger states, did not have the mandates to speak on their behalf. “As regards the private sector, we did not get to them before the meeting was adjourned but we hope they also increase their initial offer.” Organised labour on Monday reiterated its May 31, 2024 deadline for the implementation of the new minimum wage. The National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, insisted on N615,000 minimum wage, arguing that the amount was arrived at after an analysis of the current economic situation and the needs of an average Nigerian family of six. He blamed the government and the OPS for the breakdown in negotiation, saying, “Despite earnest efforts to reach an equitable agreement, the less than reasonable action of the Government and the Organised Private Sector has led to a breakdown in negotiations.” In a statement released at the end of the jointly held NEC meeting by the NLC and TUC which was signed by Joe Ajaero, NLC president and Festus Osifo, TUC president, the unions said they acknowledge the ongoing negotiations between the NLC/TUC, the Organised Private Sector and the Federal Government regarding the new national minimum wage. While appreciating what they described as the efforts made thus far, the NLC and TUC emphasized the urgency of reaching a fair and equitable agreement that reflects the true value of Nigerian workers’ contributions to the nation’s development and the current crisis of survival facing Nigerians as a result of government’s policies. They also affirmed commitment to ensuring that the interests and welfare of workers are adequately protected in the negotiation process. President Bola Tinubu through Vice President Kashim Shettima, on January 30, 2024, inaugurated the 37-member Tripartite Committee on Minimum Wage to come up with a new minimum wage ahead of the expiration of the current N30,000 wage on April 18. With its membership cutting across federal and state governments, the private sector and organised labour, the panel is to recommend a new national minimum wage for the country. During the inauguration of the panel, Shettima urged the members to “speedily” arrive at a resolution and submit their reports early. “This timely submission is crucial to ensure the emergence of a new minimum wage,” Shettima said. In furtherance of its assignment, a zonal public hearing was held simultaneously on March 7 in Lagos, Kano, Enugu, Akwa Ibom, Adamawa, and Abuja. The NLC and the TUC in different states proposed various figures as a living wage, referencing the current economic crunch and the high costs of living. In their different proposals on the minimum wage, the NLC members in the South-West states demanded N794,000 as the TUC suggested N447,000. At the North-Central zonal hearing in Abuja, the workers demanded N709,000 as the new national minimum wage, while their counterparts in the South-South clamoured for N850,000. In the North-West, N485,000 was proposed, while the South-East stakeholders demanded N540,000 minimum wage. But organised labour settled for N615,000 as a living wage.

  About 20 residents of Dawaki, a community near Kubwa in the Federal Capital Territory, have been kidnapped. The attackers were said to have raided houses on Frank Opara Street before security operatives responded to distress calls. The Chairman of Dawaki Rock Heaven Community, Tunde Abdulrahim, who spoke to newsmen on Monday, said the incident happened at about 7.30pm on Sunday. Abdulrahim said the armed men, numbering about 50, invaded the community and broke into about six houses. Commenting on the attack, the FCT police spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, said in a statement on Monday that the Commissioner of Police, Benneth Igweh, led policemen to the scene and engaged the kidnappers in a gun battle. The statement read, “In an immediate and strategic response to a distress call on the attack by unknown gunmen in Dawaki on May 19, 2024, at about 11.30pm, the operatives of the FCT Police Command, led by the Commissioner of Police, CP Igweh, himself, swiftly mobilised to the scene. “Displaying remarkable bravery and coordination, the police, in synergy with local hunters, advanced on the assailants, tactically ambushing them at Ushafa Hill via Bwari and Shishipe Hills via Mpape. This led to a fierce gun duel as the hoodlums were overwhelmed by the firepower of the operatives, forcing them to scamper to safety with various degrees of bullet injuries, and the victims were rescued. “While one of the rescued victims is still in the hospital receiving medical attention, the Commissioner of Police, FCT, reaffirms the command’s steadfast dedication to maintaining peace and security in the territory, as search operations are ongoing to rescue other hostages who fled the scene during the shootout.” The PUNCH had reported how some bandits in the early hours of Sunday abducted five people from Shagari Quarters, Dei-Dei, in the FCT. Vigilante sources in the community confirmed that the attackers arrived in the area around noon and went straight to the compound of a senior customs officer, where they picked up his wife, three of his children, and a younger brother. “They spent more than two hours before proceeding to the neighbouring Dakwa community. The man used to work in Abuja with the police Rapid Response Squad (RRS), always parking around his house. But they are no longer around following his deployment to Lagos, though his family is still living in the compound,” the source added. An attempt by the bandits to attack some houses in Dakwa town was said to have been unsuccessful, following a fierce fire exchange with security men there, which forced them to withdraw, according to the Chief of Dakwa, Dr Alhassan Musa Babachukuri. The traditional ruler lamented that the bandits have created a base behind Zuma Rock in the Chachi community near Dakawa in neighbouring Niger State, which leads to some forests around Bwari.

  The National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has alerted the public to the recall of Caro White Skin Lightening Beauty Lotion by the European Union Rapid Alert System for Dangerous Non-Food Products. The cream is one of Nigeria’s most patronised skincare products due to its affordability and accessibility. Against the guidelines of the Cosmetic Products Regulation, the skin care product contains a high concentration of Kojic acid, above permissible maximum concentration of 1 percent stipulated by the EU Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS). Studies show kojic acid is a chemical produced from different types of fungi, with effects include treating melasma, and reducing the appearance of scars and more. “High concentration of Kojic Acid is associated with potential endocrine disrupting properties,” NAFDAC stated in a public alert. Detailing the product, the agency revealed that the manufacturer of Caro White Skin Lightening Beauty Lotion is unknown. But the product comes labelled batch number LB2.1790.B and barcode: 6181100538892. “Although the product is not in NAFDAC database, importers, distributors, retailers and consumers are advised to exercise caution and vigilance within the supply chain to avoid the importation, distribution, sale and use of the above mentioned product,” the agency said. It noted that the authenticity and physical condition of the product should be carefully accessed while urging members of the public in possession to discontinue sale or use and submit stock to the nearest NAFDAC office. Healthcare professionals and consumers are encouraged to report adverse events experienced with the use of the product to the nearest NAFDAC office, via pharmacovigilance@nafdac.gov.ng, E-reporting platforms available at www.nafdac.gov.ng.