Headlines

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has criticised Senate President Godswill Akpabio and the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-controlled Senate over alleged plans to prevent Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP, Kogi Central) from resuming her seat after completing a six-month suspension.

The Senate is scheduled to reconvene from its two-month recess on September 23.

Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, who was suspended on March 6, had on September 4 written to the National Assembly leadership notifying them of her intention to resume.

However, in a reply signed by the Acting Clerk to the National Assembly, Dr. Yahaya Danzaria, she was informed that her suspension remained in force and was tied to a pending case at the Court of Appeal.

Reacting on Tuesday, the PDP accused Akpabio and the Senate leadership of deliberately plotting to silence the people of Kogi Central senatorial district and weaken the opposition in the upper chamber.

The party described the move as undemocratic and urged the Senate to allow Akpoti-Uduaghan resume her legislative duties without further delay.

The Nigerian national electricity grid has collapsed on Wednesday, causing power generation to plummet from 2,917.83 megawatts (MW) to just 1.5 MW between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m.

Following the incident, Nigeria National Grid, an X handle that tracks electricity distribution, confirmed the development, stating that “system restoration is in progress.”

In a subsequent update, the account revealed that load allocations to all Distribution Companies (DisCos) across the country had dropped to zero, with the exception of Ibadan DisCo.

“Disco load” refers to the volume of electricity (in megawatts) allocated to each power distribution company from the national grid.

As of the time of filing this report, none of the DisCos had issued official statements on the collapse.

The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has announced plans to commence a nationwide strike on Thursday over poor working conditions and other unresolved issues.

President of the association, Dr. Osundara Zenith, disclosed this in an interview with journalists on Wednesday, noting that the decision would be ratified at a National Executive Council meeting.

He said the action became necessary after the expiration of a 10-day ultimatum issued to the Federal Government, which he claimed was ignored.

“The reasons are because of the poor working conditions of our members, the shortage of manpower, the downgrading of certificates, the non-payment of salary arrears and allowances, and the issue of the Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF) for over 2,000 resident doctors across the country,” Zenith explained.

The NARD president added that the strike is also in solidarity with resident doctors in Abuja and Oyo State, who are already on strike over similar grievances.

He called on both the Federal Government and affected state governments to urgently address the demands to avert a complete shutdown of public hospitals nationwide.

Efforts by the Federal Government to avert the looming strike by the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) hit a brick wall on Monday, as a closed-door conciliatory meeting with the Dangote Group ended in deadlock.

The meeting, convened by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Mohammed Dingyadi, alongside the Minister of State, Nkiruka Onyejeocha, was aimed at resolving the industrial dispute triggered by alleged attempts by the Dangote Refinery to bar its compressed natural gas (CNG) tanker drivers from joining labour unions.

In attendance were national executives of NUPENG, representatives of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).

NUPENG had last week announced plans to withdraw its members from work starting Monday, September 8, in protest against the alleged anti-union practices. Although the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) and the Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association (DTCDA) distanced themselves from the action, the union on Sunday reaffirmed its readiness to proceed with the strike.

Alarmed by the potential impact on the economy, the Federal Government had earlier appealed to NUPENG to shelve the action and allow dialogue to continue. Dingyadi, in a statement issued through the ministry’s spokesperson, Patience Onuobia, urged the union to reconsider its decision, warning that even a day’s disruption in the petroleum sector could result in huge revenue losses and hardship for Nigerians.

“The petroleum sector is very important to this country. It constitutes the core of the economy. A strike, even for just a day, will have an adverse impact, leading to heavy revenue losses running into billions of naira and causing untold hardship for Nigerians,” the minister said.

He also appealed to the NLC to withdraw its red alert to affiliate unions to prepare for solidarity action, stressing that the matter would be resolved amicably.

Despite the government’s intervention, Monday’s conciliation talks ended without an agreement, leaving the threat of a nationwide disruption in the petroleum sector unresolved.