Top 5 Stories Of The Day | NLC Ponders Demanding a New Minimum Wage

• NLC ponders demanding a new minimum wage
• NCC fines Elon Musk’s Starlink over breaching Nigeria’s regulations
• IPMAN counters Dangote, says marketers are unable to purchase oil from refinery
• Bandits kidnap 16 people in Kebbi State
• Representatives seek to revoke airstrip licences for private entities

Across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, these are the five top Nigerian news stories you shouldn’t miss.

NLC ponders demanding a new minimum wage

The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has announced that it is considering whether or not to demand a new minimum wage, citing the rise in inflation and economic hardship in Nigeria.

The NLC President, Joe Ajaero, revealed that the union may be forced to make another demand for a minimum wage that could sustain all workers in light of the inflation and continuous rise in petrol prices, which further makes it harder for workers to afford their transport for work.

“It is sad, but we cannot afford to keep our public refineries shut while still importing refined petroleum products. We demand a review of our salaries in lieu of its eroded values,” he said.

NCC fines Elon Musk’s Starlink over breaching Nigeria’s regulations

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has revealed that it may likely impose a sanction on Elon Musk’s Starlink for its alleged violation of local telecommunication regulations and increasing its prices without approval.

Though Starlink has reversed its prices, reports state that NCC may still fine Starlink for breaching part of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003.

Earlier reports revealed that Starlink had raised its subscription price by almost 100%, from ₦38,000 to ₦75,000.

IPMAN counters Dangote, says marketers are unable to purchase oil from refinery

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) have come out to counter the sayings of the CEO of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, who said that his refinery currently housed half a billion litres of Petroleum but no retailer had come to buy it.

According to IPMAN’s President, Abubakar Garima, the oil marketers have been unable to load oil from Dangote Refinery for some days. The President said this in an interview, countering Dangote’s statement.

Garima further said that oil marketers were not importing oil as Dangote had claimed and that he (Dangote) should permit the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria to register directly for access to purchase oil rather than going through NNPC, the middleman.

Bandits kidnap 16 people in Kebbi State 

Bandits have once again terrorised the northern part of Nigeria as this time, 16 residents were kidnapped in a recent attack on Bena village and neighbouring areas in the Danko-Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State.

The news was confirmed by Lawali Umar, the Secretary of the Security Committee in Wasagu. He said that the unsuspecting victims were out working on their guinea corn farms when the bandits ambushed them.

Umar announced that the bandits attempted to kidnap six more people, but the army had intercepted and rescued the six, while some of the 16 kidnapped also escaped, but there are currently nine people held hostage by bandits.

Representatives seek to revoke airstrip licences for private entities

The House of Representatives has requested that the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, revoke all airstrip licences given to all private entities (individuals or organisations).

The motion was sponsored by Sulaiman Abubakar, a lawmaker representing the Gummi/Bukkuyum federal constituency of Zamfara state, as the lower chamber passed the proposed bill during the plenary session.

According to Abubakar, one of his many reasons for promoting the motion was due to the rising insecurity in Nigeria caused by the illegal importation and proliferation of firearms and hard drugs, which all tarnish Nigeria’s image overseas.