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Protesters Lock Down Courts Over Minimum Wage

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Protesters Lock Down Courts Over Minimum Wage

The Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) at the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Federal High Court Headquarters, and Court of Appeal have locked the respective courts over the alleged failure of the Federal Government to implement the new minimum wage, the 25/35% salary increment, and the wage award for judiciary staff.

The chairmen of JUSUN in the FCT High Court and Federal High Courts, Messrs. Abdulrazaq Yusuf and Samuel Ikpatt, disclosed the reason for the strike to Nairametrics on Monday.

Nairametrics observed on Monday that the FCT High Court Maitama, FHC Headquarters, and Appeal Court Headquarters are locked by members of the union, while the Supreme Court of Nigeria remains in full operation.

Why Courts Remain Locked
In a circular by JUSUN FHC, for instance, tagged “NOTICE OF AN INDEFINITE STRIKE ACTION” and dated May 30, 2025, members were notified of the union’s decision to embark on an indefinite strike commencing from Monday, June 2, 2025.

According to the circular, the development followed the decision reached by the national leadership of the union after failed negotiations with the Minister of Labour and Employment on May 30, 2025.

“The union’s decision to embark on strike was informed by the failure of the Federal Government to implement the new minimum wage, the 25/35% salary increment, and the wage award for judiciary staff.

“ In light of this, all members of staff are hereby requested to remain at home until further notice,” the circular partly read.

Reaction to the Ongoing Strike
Speaking with Nairametrics, Yusuf said it was the Supreme Court and National Judicial Council that pulled out of the ongoing strike, adding, “but the FCT High Court is completely shut down. All the FCT High Court jurisdictions are completely shut down.”

He maintained that judiciary workers are demanding their rights following the national minimum wage that was approved by President Ahmed Bola Tinubu for Nigerian workers.

He alleged that the FCT judiciary workers have not started enjoying the financial review “for almost 11 months now.”
“Then there is the wage award before the consequential adjustment of the national minimum wage. The federal government said that there is a wage award. And FCT High Court and other federal judiciary staff have not received that wage award for five months”, he added.

He stressed that members are seeking the release of the five-month arrears of the wage award.

“Then there is a 25-35% increment for consolidated public salary structures, which the FCT judiciary and the federal judiciary are part of. We have not started enjoying that for almost a year now. So this is our agitation. We are fighting for our rights.

“We agreed that they are going to give a N70,000 minimum wage, which other places have started enjoying,” he said.

He maintained that, as other Nigerians are getting the minimum wage, the judiciary staff also deserve it.

On his part, Ikpatt told Nairametrics that the FHC did not pull out of the ongoing strike as directed by the national union.

He added that FHC offices nationwide are under lock.

What You Should Know
President Bola Tinubu, in 2024, signed the new N70,000 national minimum wage into law.

The President signed the bill during a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa.

Nairametrics earlier reported that Tinubu and leaders of Organised Labour had reached an agreement setting N70,000 as the new minimum wage for Nigerian workers.
Initially, the federal government proposed a sum of N62,000, but labour insisted on N250,000, resulting in a deadlock between both parties.

The truce between the government and labour followed a series of talks between labour leaders and the President in the last few weeks, after months of failed negotiations between labour organs and a tripartite committee on minimum wage constituted by the President in January.

The committee, which comprised state and federal governments and the Organised Private Sector, had proposed N62,000 while labour insisted on N250,000 as the new minimum wage for workers who currently earn N30,000 as minimum wage.

Labour had said N30,000 was unsustainable for any worker, given the economic vagaries of inflation and the high cost of living which followed the removal of petrol subsidy by the President.

Nairametrics.com

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Stop Politicising EFCC Investigation To Blackmail President, APC Chieftain Tells Opposition Parties

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Niger Poised As Decentralized Electricity Model Under Tinubu's Act – Santuraki

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has cautioned members of opposition parties under the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) investigation to stop blackmailing President Bola Tinubu and focus on proving their innocence.

Oyintiloye, a member of the defunct APC Presidential Campaign Council, said this while speaking with newsmen on Sunday in Osogbo.

He said that the investigations being carried out by the anti-graft agency on some members of the opposition parties, based on petitions against them, were purely a constitutional matter and in line with international best practices.

Oyintiloye, a former lawmaker said that being a member of the opposition parties should not be seen as immunity against investigation into any alleged financial infractions whenever there were genuine reasons for it.

According to him, members of the ruling party are also being investigated by the EFCC whenever petitions alleging financial infractions are raised against them.

Oyintiloye said that the EFCC has a statutory mandate to investigate financial infractions involving public office holders across party lines without bias or favouritism.

The APC chieftain said that neither Tinubu nor the anti-graft agency would be swayed by unfounded allegations of witch-hunting but would rather continue to do what is right and just for the country.

“The EFCC has a mandate to investigate financial infractions against anyone, irrespective of political affiliations.

“Linking the President to the investigation of alleged financial infractions by opposition members in the name of politics is totally wrong.

“Whether you are a member of the ruling party or opposition, you are not immune to financial investigation.

“I want to caution members of the opposition parties to stop politicising what the EFCC is doing and prove their innocence, if any.

“President Tinubu is a man of honour and integrity, and he will not compromise his ideals in the name of politics. So, it is no longer business as usual,” he said.

According to him, there is no room for graft under the Tinubu administration

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BREAKING: Winner Emerges In Kano Bye-Election As APC, NNPP Lock Horns

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) has emerged winner of the Ghari/Tsanyawa supplementary election in Kano state

The returning officer, Professor Muhammad Waziri of Bayero University, declared Garba Ya’u Gwarmai of the APC winner with 31,472 votes

Waziri defeated the candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Yusuf Ali Maigado, who polled 27,931 votes

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) has secured victory in the Ghari/Tsanyawa supplementary election held in Kano state.

Announcing the results on Sunday morning, August 17, the returning officer (RO), Professor Muhammad Waziri from Bayero University, declared APC candidate Garba Gwarmai the winner with a total of 31,472 votes.

He defeated the candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Yusuf Maigado, who polled 27,931 votes, according to The Punch.

The supplementary poll was conducted after the initial election in the constituency was declared inconclusive. With a margin of 3,541 votes, Gwarmai’s victory marks a key win for the APC as the party continues to reinforce its influence across the state.

Meanwhile, the NNPP won the Bagwai/Shanono state assembly by-election in Kano state.

Daily Trust and Vanguard noted this update.

Announcing the result at 12:36 a.m. on Sunday, August 17, the RO for the election, Prof. Hassan Adamu Shitu, declared the NNPP candidate, Ali Hassan Kiyawa, winner with 16,198 votes, defeating the APC candidate, Ahmad Muhammad Kadamu, who polled 5,347 votes.

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Tinubu’s Government Lacks Effective Communication Strategy  - Babangida

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Nigeria, Benin Sign Integration Pact

Former Governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, has said that the administration of President Bola Tinubu is performing well but lacks an effective communication strategy to relay its achievements to Nigerians.

Aliyu made the statement on the Thursday edition of Arise Television’s ‘The Morning Show’, while reacting to the outcome of a recent public accountability session held in Kaduna.

Aliyu, reflecting on the discussions at the Kaduna Forum, said the government is facing public dissatisfaction not because it hasn’t delivered, but because it is failing to tell its own story effectively.

The ex-governor said it is proper for political leaders in the North to make demands from Tinubu’s administration since the bulk of the votes that took power came from the region.

“Let the people understand what is happening on the ground. If by what we say that 63/64 percent of the vote came from the north, it is only logical that the north will be expecting so much from the government.

“But from what we have seen so far is that the government is doing well but they do not know how to communicate very well,” he said.

 

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