Headlines

The Senate has advanced the South West Development Bill to its third reading, following a comprehensive report by Senator Kaka Shehu Lawan, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Special Duties.

The proposed commission will address infrastructural deficits and ecological issues in the South West region, utilizing funds from the federation account, donations from development partners, and other sources, upon presidential assent.

Once established, the commission’s key responsibilities will include:

Managing federal funds allocated for capital projects in the South West, Overseeing construction, reconstruction, and rehabilitation of roads, housing, and other

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has formally presented a certificate of return to Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), confirming his victory in the Edo State Governorship election.

The ceremony took place at the INEC headquarters in Abuja on Thursday.

INEC declared Okpebholo winner of the Saturday, September 21 election after polling 291,667 votes to beat his closest contender, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who polled 247,274 votes.

Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP) came a distant third in the race with 22,763 votes. Fourteen other candidates contested the seat but got less than the three frontline candidates.

The APC candidate cleared over 10 of the 18 local government areas, leaving the PDP candidate with marginal victory in the other local councils. The APC gained control in two of the three battleground senatorial districts in the state.

10 persons have been confirmed dead following a cholera outbreak in Ndibokote village of Ezza Inyimagu in the Izzi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

Among the dead person is a nursing mother, who left behind a nine-month-old baby.

The Ebonyi State Health Commissioner Moses Ekuma confirmed this in a statement by the ministry’s spokesman Lucy Anyim.

Apart from the deceased, about 20 persons affected by the outbreak are responding to treatment as efforts have been made to put the disease under control from spreading around the community.

Ekuma noted that the state Governor Francis Nwifuru has approved the procurement of medical commodities to curtail the outbreak.

He said that three treatment centres including the Iziogo Health Centre, Sudan Mission Onuenyim, and Ndibokote village have been established in the area.

Open defecation and poor hygiene have been attributed to the outbreak of the disease, as most communities get drinking water from streams, as such the people are advised to take precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the disease.

The Kwara State High Court has sentenced five suspects involved in the 2018 Offa bank robbery incident to death.

Justice Haleemah Salman of the Kwara State High Court found the five suspects guilty of illegal possession of firearms, armed robbery and culpable homicide.

Justice Salman allowed the defendants to take pleas of mercy but eventually sentenced all to the gallows.

“The five of you shall be hanged on your neck until you are dead to serve as a lesson to others,” she said in her ruling.

Daredevil robbers stormed Offa town of Kwara State in 2018 and robbed at least five commercial banks in the ancient town.

Thirty-three people, including nine policemen, were killed in the robbery, as the culprits made off with an undisclosed sum of cash.

One suspect died in police custody while the remaining defendants pleaded not guilty.

Bashir Mohammed, an activist with the Nigeria Network of Human Rights, criticized the ruling.

“The judgment is too harsh and the court should have shown leniency,” Mohammed told Anadolu, adding that the judge could have handed the defendants life in prison.

Former Senate President Bukola Saraki lamented foul play after the All Progressive Congress (APC) Won all the local government chairmanship and councillorship elections held last Saturday across Kwara state’s 16 council areas.

In the elections, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state cleared the 16 local government Areas as declared by the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWSIEC).

KWSIEC Chairman Baba Okanla, declaring the results, said the APC won all 16 local government chairmanship seats and cleared all 193 councillorship positions.

In his reaction to the declaration by the state electoral body, Saraki, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), opined that it is a shame that the declared chairmen and councilors would be in office without legitimacy and the mandate of the people.

According to him, a message has been sent to the government by the people that it has not made any significant or positive impact on their lives after 64 months in power.

The former Kwara governor argued that the people mobilised themselves to the polling units for the local government polls but met the absence of electoral officials and shoddy preparations by the electoral body.

Saraki commended the people for standing firm against “deliberately concocted frustrations.”

He wrote, “Last Saturday, in a manner that went beyond partisan consideration and gave expression to the protection of community interests, people from Kwara mobilised themselves to the polling units and met the absence of electoral officials and shoddy preparations by the electoral body.

“Whatever results the electoral body eventually declared, our people have sent a clear signal to a government that has not made any significant, positive impact on their lives after 64 months in office. It is a shame that the 16 local government areas now have chairmen and councillors who would be in office without legitimacy and people’s mandate.”

Civil servants under the federal government payroll will start receiving the new minimum wage payment from Thursday, the 26th of September.

The Spokesperson of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Bawa Mokwa disclosed this in an exclusive interview with daily post on Thursday.

He assured that workers will begin to get alert of their new minimum wage salary payment starting from Thursday.

However, Mokwa did not state if the minimum wage would be paid alongside its arrears.

He told our correspondent, “Federal Government civil servants will start getting the new minimum wage from today(Thursday) this September 2024. What I can tell you is that the minimum wage salary payment is today I am not sure of the arrears”, he told daily post.

His comment comes after the Chairman of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, Ekpo Nta, on Tuesday confirmed that the government has approved the upward review of consolidated public service salary structure, CONPSS in line with the minimum wage(Amendment) Act, 2024.

The Federal Government has approved a monthly allowance increase for National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members to N77,000, effective July 2024. This change aligns with the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act 2024.

According to the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission’s letter dated September 25, 2024, signed by Chairman Ekpo Nta, the new allowance aims to provide “much-needed relief” and boost Corps Members’ morale.

NYSC Director General Brigadier General YD Ahmed thanked the Federal Government for the increment, which follows his advocacy visit to the Commission.

This increase comes five years after the last adjustment in 2019, raising the monthly allowance from N33,000 to N77,000, with an additional N44,000 per month retroactive to July. Outstanding arrears from July are expected to be paid soon.

The enhanced allowance aims to help Corps Members cope with rising living costs and inflation, significantly improving their well-being as they contribute to national development.