The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • Double jeopardy

    Double jeopardy

    • Harsh conditions in IDP camps must be redressed to make their stay meaningful

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) were uprooted from their traditional homesteads by insecurity challenges that made their domicile in those places of abode untenable for continuing survival. They’ve been forced to take up residence in camps where the least that is expected are living conditions that should sustain decent if rudimentary existence, even when these conditions fall below the standards of living they knew in their beleaguered communities.

    Neither is it expected that IDP camps should become a permanent abode, but rather that challenges which led to their displacement should be earnestly redressed by the authorities so they could return as soon as is practicable to their traditional homes. They are victims of emergencies, and emergencies should by no means translate into permanent conditions of living.

    The experiences of IDPs across Nigeria fall far short of these expectations, as they face harsh conditions in camps where they’ve been resettled. Recent reports said three persons died in an IDP camp in Shiroro council area of Niger State for lack of healthcare and food shortages. The desk officer at Gwada camp, Hussaini Alhassan, was reported further saying two newborns died at birth owing to inadequate healthcare and lack of other basic amenities.

    He spoke during the distribution of N30million worth of humanitarian relief items donated by a charity known as the North South Power Foundation (NSPF). The intervention, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), covered 12 IDP settlements in Shiroro and Munya council areas of Niger State.

    Alhassan also said IDPs who fled Kaore and Bassa communities in Shiroro because of insecurity had lived in Gwada camp for more than six years. He lamented that despite their long stay there, the camps yet lacked adequate healthcare services, also faced shortages of food and other basic necessities that make life difficult for displaced families.

    Another official, Yusuf Kuta, who is the coordinator of Kuta camp, reported the death of an elderly woman at the camp. He added that about 300 displaced persons – mostly women and children – lacked food and other essentials, which made the intervention by NSPF timely.

    Presenting the donated items, Head of NSPF, Dr. Kemi Adekanye, said the foundation was moved by the plight of the displaced persons, having observed their struggles with hunger and other needs. Represented by Dr. Samson Esumeh, consultant on public relations to the foundation, Adekanye said the gesture was in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on food security and hunger elimination.

    The occasion of NSPF’s donations freshly drew attention to living conditions in IDP camps, especially in northern areas where people were displaced by activities of bandits and insurgents. Surveys showed that having escaped attacks by violent criminals and armed gangs in their villages, many displaced persons now face new challenges such as harsh deprivations and rights abuses, including sexual harassment that women and girls in IDP camps reported. With little protection, IDPs are also at the risk of being kidnapped by bandits who operate close to resettlement camps.

    An agency report early last year cited a female resident of an IDP camp in the Northwest saying since arriving there, she had suffered various forms of violence. “We experience different kinds of harassment from bad actors within our host community. Our rooms don’t have doors, making it easy for attackers,” she said.

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    Harsh conditions faced in terms of access to food and money forced some IDPs to resort to survival endeavours like gathering firewood from surrounding bushes of the expansive Lake Chad shores. But this only exposed them to hazards of raids by terror agents that their resettlement in camps was meant to shield them from.

    In March 2024, a large group of youthful IDPs in the highly populated unofficial camp at Gamboru Ngala, Borno State, got abducted by terrorists when they went to fetch firewood in the bushes. Reports said a few of them managed to escape as the abductors herded away through the jungle, and traced their way back to camp. But many more remained in the hold of the terrorists, with the fate of some not certain even unto this day.

    Security forces under the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu have done remarkably well in dealing terrorists and bandits a heavy hand and curtailing their exploits. We hope that this feat will translate to restoring peace to traditional communities from which the IDPs were displaced, so they can return to their normal lives in those communities.

    But even while at the camps, their welfare must be safeguarded so that their lot and experiences at the supposed places of refuge would not on the contrary be double jeopardy.

  • Bishop Mike Okonkwo at 80

    Bishop Mike Okonkwo at 80

    • We rejoice with a man who has kept to his core duty of propagating the gospel as against the pursuit of material attractions

    It was only fitting that when he marked the grand milestone of attaining the age of 80 on September 6, Bishop Mike Okonkwo, founder of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM), was widely celebrated by Nigerians across religious, ethnic, regional, political and other sectional boundaries.

    This was in recognition of his status as a frontline spiritual leader as well as a patriotic citizen who has contributed immensely to national development and cohesion at a time when many eminent clerics across sectarian demarcations have not hesitated to compound and complicate, rather than help find constructive solutions to the country’s challenges.

    Following his formal commitment to Christ in 1970, Bishop Okonkwo joined the United Church of Christ where he served and helped to found a number of branches of the church. About a decade later, 1981 specifically, he sowed the seed of TREM, which under his nurturing has blossomed into a giant oak among the country’s Pentecostal churches, with no less than 180 branches within and outside Nigeria.

    What is remarkable is that while some leading lights in the Pentecostal fold have got themselves embroiled in needless and unhelpful controversies, he has refused to be distracted from his core purpose of propagating the gospel, while maintaining a balanced theology.

    In a season when it has become difficult to distinguish between the crass materialism that fuels greed, corruption and rampant criminality in the larger Nigerian society and the excessively acquisitive and accumulative values espoused by Pentecostal exponents of what has been called the ‘prosperity gospel’, Bishop Okonkwo’s TREM cannot be counted among the maddening crowd.

    It is unfortunate that the prioritisation of wealth accumulation and its obscene exhibition in some religious circles, even in the face of deepening crises of poverty and inequality in the country, has contributed to the devaluation and corrosion of positive social values and the perpetuation of rampant immorality.

    Again, a key contributory factor to stoking political tensions and threatening the country’s stability has been the brazenness with which some religious leaders have immersed themselves in partisan politics and openly identifying with particular political parties and candidates, thus reinforcing the perception of electoral contests as religious war in disguise.

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    This was particularly evident in the run-up to the 2023 presidential election, with many pastors turning their pulpits into platform for incendiary political and ethnic rhetoric. Bishop Okonkwo was one of those same voices who shunned partisan grandstanding or religious brinkmanship.

    The foundation for the cleric’s broad national outlook was laid early in life. His primary school education spanned the Salvation Army Primary School, Enugu, the Ijero Baptist Primary School, Ebute Metta, Lagos, and St Mark’s Primary School, Offa, Kwara State.

    He received his further education at the late atheist and social critic, Dr Tai Solarin’s Mayflower College, Ikenne, Ogun State, and the Merchant of Light Grammar School, Oba, Anambra State. He took to full time ministry after spells in banking and military service, truncated by the three-year Nigerian civil war.

    It is a mark of the bishop’s standing in the Christian community that he served meritoriously as the inaugural National Secretary of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) from 1986 to 1995 and was president of the association from 1998 to 2007.

    He is a member of the Trustees Council of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Nigerian Interreligious Council which is committed to promoting inter-faith dialogue and understanding.

    Beyond preaching the gospel, the TREM runs the Empowerment for the Less Privileged (ELP) Foundation that focuses on supporting vulnerable communities in education, health care, emergency relief and strengthening small businesses.

    Bishop Okonkwo is known to have played a pivotal role in resolving the protracted communal conflict among warring factions in Ogbunike, Anambra State, where he hails from, and is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions for his outstanding contributions to society and humanity.

    Among these are the national honour of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) by the Nigerian government and the Kwame Nkrumah African Leadership Award. The inscription of his name on the Jerusalem 3000 Scroll as well as honorary degree awards from the Morris Cerullo School of Ministry International Bible Institute and Seminary in Florida, and the Covington Theological Seminary in Georgia, indicate his reputable international standing as a Christian leader.

  • Starved missions

    Starved missions

    •Government needs to work out sustainable ways to run our embassies

    Countries have continued to establish embassies which serve as the main offices for the diplomatic representatives of one country in another since the 13th century.

    Their duties include maintaining relations, promoting national interests and serving their citizens abroad. Embassy officials deal with political, economic, and cultural exchanges, issue passports and visas and provide consular services.

    It is in this context that Nigeria, too, as a modern state, established embassies in many countries with which the country maintains relations.

    Because of their importance in international relations, the embassies are necessarily money guzzlers. They have several bills to pick: rent, payments to service providers, salaries for locally recruited members of the staff and allowances for home-based officers, among others.

    Unfortunately, Nigeria has in recent times been having challenges meeting these basic obligations due to the country’s economic challenges.

    The economic challenges led to budgetary shortfalls to all arms of government, including the foreign missions. This, over the years, the embassies could not perform their functions well. Their ability to fulfill their core diplomatic responsibilities, including payment of salaries to the country’s 450 foreign service officers in 109 missions, 76 embassies, 22 high commissions and consulates suffered as a result.

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    As a matter of fact, it got to a situation where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had to admit these challenges publicly. The ministry’s spokesperson,  Kimiebi Ebienfa, said in a statement that “The ministry is not unaware of the restrictions that financial limitations have placed on the smooth running of the missions, including the inability to pay salaries of locally recruited staff, financial obligations to service providers, rent to landlords, and the foreign service allowance to home-based officers,” among other obligations.

    Serious as this might be, it is not the first time that Nigeria’s embassies would be having this kind of experience. We had it in 2023. We also had several similar experiences even before then.

    As  a retired diplomat, Mr Rashid Akinkuolie, said, “It is a perennial issue, it is not something that is just happening today.’’

    This is enough reason to make the country wiser. It is not the kind of problem that we should be having frequently if only for the embarrassment it exposes the country to.

    It is however gratifying that the Federal Government says it has started taking steps to reduce this financial crisis on the embassies. “The government is taking decisive and concrete steps to address the issues of fund allocation to all its missions abroad,” the statement by Ebienfa added.

    We urge the government to expedite the disbursement of the over 80 percent of the funds that is ready to take care of the priority concerns of the embassies, including payment to service providers, salaries of locally recruited staff and arrears of claims due to officers. 

    The government may also explore Akinkuolie’s suggestion on the way out of the debt crisis:  “The only way to address the issue is to pay them in foreign currency. The solution is that the vote should be denominated in dollars but where you use naira, you face problems. The salaries are fixed, and the cost of running the mission is fixed, so, the allocation to the mission shouldn’t be denominated in naira.’’

    In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should develop a sustainable financial framework for the embassies, with broader reforms aimed at improving fiscal governance and resource allocation.

    Where necessary, the Federal Government could consider reducing the number of the foreign missions if they are becoming too expensive to maintain. The implications of this financial crisis on them are many: children of embassy personnel dropping out of school due to non-payment of school fees. In many instances, their landlords eject them for failing to meet their rent obligations.

    Not to talk of the other indignities that the embassy workers suffer and the embarrassment to the entire country.   

    The embassies are the country’s face outside. We have to treat them specially if we want to be respected in the comity of nations.

  • Derailing fear

    Derailing fear

    •Nigerians await the inquest into what led to the Abuja-Kaduna train mishap

    August 26 was a day another derailment entered the diary of rail travels in Nigeria, and it raised questions about whether the revival of that mode of transportation would not generate fear.

    The Minister of Transportation, Saidu Alkali, allayed such mortal sentiment when he said no sabotage was involved, at least from the preliminary investigations.

    When the incident occurred, there was fear not because of technical malfunction alone but because of the suspicion it might be a terrorist attack.

    The memory of onslaught and mass kidnap of that route in 2022 still invokes raw emotions among Nigerians. It is a measure of hope that that route has been revived and safety has been the narrative for a couple of years.

    The good cheer is that no one died, no terror link made and eyes are focused on what happens in derailments in other climes of sanity: technical errors. That is what we know so far. And even the House of Representatives has launched its own inquiry over the incident by summoning the minister.

    At a press conference, the minister confirmed that four out of 10 derailed coaches had been recovered using specialised railway cranes and equipment.

    So also has the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) initiated its own efforts to get into the bottom of the unfortunate incident. Its director- general, Alex Badeh, announced that out of 583 passengers and crew, 12 sustained minor to moderate injuries. He said there were no fatalities reported. He admitted that derailment caused significant damage to “tracks, sleepers, and switching mechanisms, leading to a temporary suspension of services along the corridor.”

    This has necessitated investigations into key areas that include the track infrastructure, with special emphasis on the track geometry, switches, and the switching mechanism at Asham Station. He also identified the rolling stock, such as the locomotives and coaches. They will undergo a technical inspection to check for any mechanical failures.

    They will also delve into the train memories by examining the operational records, including maintenance logs and operational data. The purpose is to scrutinise them to assess any potential oversight or issues.

    To make it comprehensive they will sharpen their focus on data from onboard systems, such as speedometers, CCTV, and over-speed trip mechanisms. These will be analysed to determine whether any technical malfunctions contributed to the incident.

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    The human and public factor will play a role in this inquest as they will document witness accounts from passengers, crew members, and emergency responders “will also be gathered to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the event. Updates will be provided as the investigation progresses.”

    We expect that the reports will reach the public before long. This will enable them overhaul their operations and learn from the mistakes, going forward. It is obvious that such thorough work has not been done in a while, and it is a moment for introspection. It is such levity that led the airways to turn into contrails of blood some years ago.

    No need for hysteria, though. Derailments are nothing new, so long as they do not carry fatalities. We have seen some of them of late around the world. In Egypt on August 29, it claimed three lives. In Lisbon, Portugal, 15 died and 18 injured on September 4. On August 1, 30 persons were injured in Pakistan.

    But they are no cheering news. We must take care of the coaches and the tracks. The fear of sabotage is not related to terror alone as some vandals do it for mischievous financial profit by selling them to ready smelters.

     The Federal Executive Council decided recently to frame a legislation to exacerbate the penalty for infractions of vandals and buyers. It should do that fast.

  • Barbaric

    Barbaric

    •Mob killing of alleged offenders is savage justice that must be stopped

    Another victim of jungle justice by irate mobs was recorded penultimate weekend. This time, it was in Kasuwan Garba, Mariga council area of Niger State, where a female food vendor was lynched for alleged blasphemy against the Islamic faith.

    Reports said the local food vendor, identified simply as Ammaye, got lynched and her body burnt by angry youths for alleged blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad. Trouble started, according to eye witnesses, when the lady, herself a Muslim faithful and well-known food seller in the community, engaged in a verbal exchange with a young man said to be her nephew.

    The young man was reported to have jokingly told Ammaye that he wanted to marry her to “fulfil the Sunnah,” to which the lady responded with comments considered blasphemous.

    Her comments sparked an outrage among the locals. The matter was taken to the palace of the district head of Kasuwan Garba where the lady was interrogated, and she allegedly repeated what she had earlier said.

    The district head then handed Ammaye over to security agents for further interrogation. But a crowd of agitated youths waylaid her in company of the security operatives, insisting on instant justice for her. Despite efforts by the security agents to protect the lady, the mob overwhelmed them, seized her and stoned her to death, after which the body was set ablaze. Niger State Police Command confirmed that the tragic incident occurred on August 30 at about 2:00p.m.

    Command spokesman Wasiu Abiodun, a Superintendent of Police (SP), said in a statement that efforts were underway to identify, arrest and prosecute those involved in the mob action. “A report was received that (the victim) allegedly made some utterances considered offensive to the Islamic faith. Her comments provoked anger among members of the community,” the statement said, adding: “Unfortunately, it led to a mob attack and the woman was set ablaze before a reinforcement security team could arrive on the scene.”

    The spokesman further said the police command strongly condemned the act of jungle justice, and that even though normalcy had been restored to the area, the command would not relent on its determination to bring culprits of the mayhem to book. The Chairman of Mariga Local Government Area, Abbas Adamu, also confirmed the incident but noted that calm had been restored.

    The mob killing in Niger State occurred just about a week after a woman mistaken for a kidnapper was mob-killed in Kwara State. The victim, who was later identified to be a wandering destitute, was attacked at the popular Ipata Market in Ilorin East council area and inflicted with severe bodily injury that resulted in her death.

    The police in Kwara State said the woman was seen roaming around the community, with community members suspecting her to be a kidnapper, and a mob thereby attacking her. A police patrol team reportedly raced to the scene to rescue the victim and rushed her to General Hospital, Ilorin, for urgent medical attention. But a doctor at the hospital confirmed her dead as a result of the injuries sustained.

    These were only recent instances. Mob killings are a regular occurrence in the Nigerian communal experience, and the bigger tragedy is that most victims were later discovered to be innocent of the crimes they were killed for – not surprisingly so, because room was not made to ascertain their offence in the first place.

    Meanwhile, jungle justice is a criminal act under Nigerian law because it violates constitutional provisions that guarantee every citizen the right to life (Section 33) and to fair hearing (Section 36).

    By engaging in mob justice, perpetrators commit unjustified assault and murder, which are offences punishable by death or long prison sentences. Besides, jungle justice entails disturbance of public peace and is the height of lawlessness, because what perpetrators do is take the law into their own hands.

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    But the experience is that culprits often go un-apprehended. Whenever there is an occurrence of mob justice, the authorities condemn the act in strong terms and vow to bring those involved to the real justice. That, however, rarely happens and there is no dissuasion of perpetrators from future recurrence.

    Nigeria’s history is replete with cases of mob killings that have gone unrequited. Notable ones include Deborah Samuel, a student at Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, who in 2022 was accused of blasphemy on a class WhatsApp group.

    A mob of fellow students dragged her out, stoned her and set her body ablaze. Long before that, there was the case of the Aluu Four in 2012 whereby four students of the University of Port Harcourt were falsely accused of theft and lynched by villagers in Aluu community. They were beaten, stripped and burnt alive – a case of brutality that sparked national outrage.

    Even in Lagos, a reputed cosmopolis, there was in 2022 the case of David Imoh, a sound engineer who was beaten and burnt to death by commercial motorcyclists in Lekki after a misunderstanding over payment.

    We have written repeatedly against this barbaric trend, but it keeps recurring. Something decisive must be done to punish culprits; otherwise it is a basket case.

  • Not for cash

    Not for cash

    •Federal Government ought to honour students from Yobe and Delta states better

    After the splash of awards to our sports heroes, it was no less than an anti-climax to see how the Nigerian state responded to students who made Nigeria proud in education in Delta and Yobe states.

    From Yobe, Nafisa Abdullahi Aminu and a host of other students won laurels by winning the top prize. The final stage of the TeenEagle competition took place between July 27 and August 3 at the University of Surrey, United Kingdom. Over 900 students from 46 countries drew rhetorical swords, with three Nigeria girls performing in a class of their own. They brought pride and prestige to their school, their state, and the entire nation. That was the final stage.

    It was the first time they represented Nigeria at the international competition and ranked among the best in different categories.

    Aminu was the supremo as she was named the Overall Best in English Language skills, while Rukayya Muhammad Fema won the Overall Best in Debate. Hadiza Kashim Kalli shone with the Outstanding Talent Award (Gold Medal).  The three are students of the Nigerian Tulip International College (NTIC), Yobe campus.

    Nafisa was given a cash prize of N200,000 while Rukayya and Hadiza received N100,000 each.

    The Federal Government may say that the children were too young for wealth. But the students could still benefit from something long-lasting. The Federal Government could have guaranteed the students with scholarships until the tertiary levels. That can guarantee life opportunities that could equal the athletes’ bounty.

    The athletes were each given national honours – the Order of the Niger, a cash award each of $100,000, a three-bedroom flat. Nothing wrong with that in spite of outcries of over-pampering. They are professionals and may never get anything so affirming until they hit their grey years, and we know of many who moved into destitution and illness before they died.

    There is always a thin line between materialism and sublimity in matters like this, and it is the duty of leadership to define it.

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    Our society should never live by materialism, and hence the example of Delta State is germane. Five students won another laurel for the nation at the 2025 World Basic Schools Debate Championship in Doha, Qatar.

    The Nigerian winning team, powered by brilliant minds from Delta State, comprised Wisdom Chukwuma of Government College, Ughelli; Otorvo Uyoyou of Alegbo Secondary School, Effurun; Abraham Honour of Okpaka Secondary School, Okpaka; Ekhamateh Splendour of Government Model Secondary School, Asaba; and Alika Daniel of Utagba-Ogbe Grammar School, Kwale.

    Governor Sheriff Oborevwori made a very pertinent comment. “Delta State is known not only for oil production and talents in comedy, music and sports, but also for brilliance in education,” he said. “I believe this gesture will encourage our youths to be diligent and excel in their studies.”

    He donated N20 million to each of the students, a modest sum that can take care of the students’ education up to the tertiary level in Nigeria, if properly managed.

    It is not too late for the Federal Government to refine its intervention. This is especially so as the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, has clarified that the money he gave to Nafisa and the other two winners were his personal gift in appreciation of their achievements. 

    Or else, they will present us as a philistine nation that rewards the vulgar parts of culture instead of the nobler efforts.

    In this age when the standard of education is under assault, the fact that a few young Nigerians show up at the very top calls for celebration. The way Nafisa and others were treated is no way to do so. Nigerians await the Federal Government’s own appreciation for the efforts of the trio.

    Even at that, it did not even reward the Delta State honorees.

  • A shot in the arm

    A shot in the arm

    • It is significant that lending to agric sector is rising, but interest rate still high

    There is undoubtedly a new institutional awakening to the credit needs of Nigeria’s agricultural sector. This time, however, it is far from the usual fancy acronyms packaged as ‘intervention’, but a demand-driven, industry-led initiative that reflects not just the evolving dynamics of the sector, but one that may potentially chart a sustainable path to its future.

    According to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), total lending to the agriculture sector rose – and this is quite significant – from N2.85 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2024 to N3.17 trillion in the first quarter of this year – an 11 per cent jump.

    The other report, equally noteworthy, is that the sector’s share of total credit also grew from 4.82 per cent to 5.36 per cent – although the report suggested that the increase somewhat “reflected preparation for wet season farming across the country.”

    And all of these happening in a season during which lending to the economy actually declined marginally quarter-on- quarter in the first three months of this year, occasioned by the tight monetary policy of the apex bank.

    “Overall ODCs’ (Other Depositary Corporations) credit to the economy”, the report noted, “declined marginally by 0.20 per cent to N59.10 trillion in the first quarter, from N59.22 trillion in December 2024. “The moderation reflects the contractionary monetary policy stance of the bank aimed at anchoring inflation expectations”, the report carefully noted.

    Not surprisingly, the report recorded the services sector as gulping most of the credit at 55.21 per cent, followed by industry (39.97 per cent). On the whole, it found agriculture sector to have contributed 23.33 percent to the GDP compared with 57.50 per cent for the services sector in the first quarter of 2025.

    We must commend our lenders for making the modest achievement happen. A far cry from the usual, poorly conceived, government-engineered initiative that more often than not ended up as another elegantly-packaged bazaar, it is an affirmation of much that could be done when the conditions are right.

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    One implication is that the local lenders are increasingly embracing the onerous responsibility of ensuring that the credit needs of the sector are being met. The other is that the sector’s operatives have themselves also risen to the challenge of upping their games without which their credit needs will remain unmet.

    Either way, the development cannot but bode well for the economy and so deserves to be celebrated and worked upon. In other words, it is a promising new beginning.

    Yet, as important as the trend is, several questions remain. Talk of the big elephant in the room: the prohibitive interest rates being charged by the commercial banks.  At the current double-digit rates, it is a notorious fact that the farmers still stand little or no chance of being competitive with their peers internationally, not to talk of breaking even. Not with the poor shape of logistics from the farm gates to the markets, the still record level post-harvest losses, the overall poor productivity and the countless other vagaries that continue to present farming as high risk vocation.

    To compound the situation is the question of access by farmers to formal credit, particularly at a time the majority of the farming population are largely small holders with relatively limited education.

    Of course, it is precisely the reason that the Bank of Agriculture exists, hence the urgent imperative to overhaul it as the Federal Government had in March promised to do. Expediting the bank’s recapitalisation will certainly provide a major boost to the ongoing efforts to deepen financial inclusion among the operatives of this sector.

    We must also state that the problem of the sector is not all about credit. Like other sectors, it is also ill-served by infrastructure. So were the age-long extension services which provided the critical bridge between government programmes, particularly in the areas of intervention, whether in terms of farm inputs, advisory services or machinery.

    What the reports across the states suggest is a dire need of their overhaul. Given that these are the areas in which their efforts could be most impactful, the states and local governments will certainly do well to pay greater attention to them. 

  • Imo, Ebonyi examples

    Imo, Ebonyi examples

    • The two states have demonstrated the true spirit of minimum wage

    The debate for a new national minimum wage seems to have returned earlier than the statutory three-year cycle, and Nigerian workers have the pro-active states of Imo and Ebonyi to thank for that.

    Last year, the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu moved the national minimum wage from N35,000.00 to N70,000.00 per month. But, last week, Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma increased the state minimum wage to N104, 000.00 while Ebonyi State governor, Francis Nwifuru, moved the state’s minimum wage to N90,000.00.

    Imo State also increased the minimum wage of medical doctors from N215,000.00 to N503,000.00, and teachers in tertiary institutions from N119,000.00 to N222,000.00.

    We commend the two states for reflecting the increase in income by states in the wages of workers, amongst other things they are doing.

    Speaking on Thursday at the seventh quadrennial delegates’ conference of the National Union of Civil Engineering Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers (NUCECFWW), president of Nigeria Labour Congress ,(NLC), Joe Ajaero, said: “So many people were asking me, is this real? I said, this is a report from Imo State so far. I have reached out to him. Although he told me about it before now. It is real. That is the highest and, to a very large extent, commendable.”

    The NLC president argued that: “If the states have the capacity to pay N100,000 and above, and considering that Imo State is not the highest in terms of revenue, it then means others are encouraged to do more.” He went further: “That is the whole essence of minimum wage. Minimum wage is the least; states can do better. I think this is an initiative that other governors are supposed to follow.”

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    Indeed, many states can pay better than what they are currently paying, and we urge them to do so. Expectedly, many state labour unions are already pressuring their state governments to emulate Imo and Ebonyi states.

    Edo State Chapter of the NLC which counted their members lucky last Workers Day, when the state governor, Monday Okpebholo, moved the state’s minimum wage to N75,000.00, is already planning to engage the governor for a more meaningful increase.

    Also, the chairman of the NLC in Bayelsa State, Simeon Barnabas Bay, said the congress would consult widely before meeting the state governor for a review.

    However, Taraba State Head of Service (HoS), Dr Ahmed Kara, said the state has no money to effect an increase.

    The debate clearly shows that states are not equally endowed, just as the cost of living is also different across the states. For the Enugu State Chapter of the NLC, the chairman, Fabian Nwigbo, said: “What is crucial to us is the consequential adjustment and the domestic servant allowance for deputy directors. These are the ones we’re currently discussing.”

    He went further: “In some states, what they’re doing is to add N20,000 to N70,000 to make it N90,000. But the money will not reflect on what is paid to senior workers because there’s no consequential adjustment on the minimum wage payment.

    ”We consider the debate about wages healthy, as states across the country presently earn more from the Federation Account, since the removal of fuel subsidy.

    Last June, the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) shared N1.818 trillion, compared to the N907.054 billion, shared in June, 2023, to the three tiers of government. Again, in July 2023, the FAAC shared N1.100 trillion, while for July, 2025, it shared N2.001 trillion to the three tiers. 

    Clearly, the Tinubu administration has achieved fiscal stability, and the federal, states and local governments are earning more money from the federation account.

    Many states have also significantly increased their internally generated revenue, and are also executing projects without borrowing. With states increasing minimum wage without waiting for the Federal Government, we can say the national economy is on the redound.

  • The crunch

    The crunch

    • The power sector nears a make-or-break juncture

    A “war” just broke out in the power sector.  It’s either generation companies (GenCos) embrace operational efficiency or be yanked off the national grid. 

    The GenCos, however, in clear greed for a fight, have asked the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the power sector regulator, to bring it on! 

    But a third “front” peeps, even as mutual “hostilities” roar — a third front on the stock exchange, that could well unlock the capital that could make power sector purr and hum, which in turn could make all the bickering go away! 

    Sure, it could be an utterly new operational culture: away from the suspect power sector privatisation, vide the Electric Power Sector Reform Act 2005 (EPSRA), which the Electricity Act 2023 has repealed, by further liberalising the sector.  Indeed, the capital market holds the promises for sustainable redemption, other things being equal.

    So, what will it be?

    The drama started with an order: NERC/2025/094, effective September 1, which directed that all GenCos, by November 30, must instal Free Governor Controls (FGCs) across their generating units.  These are devices that automatically pace the turbines, easing them to the velocity of power generation, thus averting the incessant collapse of the national grid.

    The NERC had recalled that the national grid, in 2024, recorded five full system failures, aside three partial system failures, all of which it blamed on the alleged GenCo shambolic attitude to turbine monitoring and control.  It reasoned FGCs should help to boost operational control, make the GenCos more efficient and effective, and help to generate much value, along the electricity value chain.

    “Any GenCo that fails to comply with the provisions of Sections 12.6.2 and 15.8.3 of the Grid Code on the integration and activation of FGC on all generating units by 30 November 2025,” the NERC order warned, “shall be liable to a penalty of a prorated 10 per cent of the invoice associated with the defaulting generating unit for the duration during which it was not operated with its FGC activated — that is, FGC non-compliant.”

    But that’s only the first penalty phase.  The second phase is more drastic, as offending GenCos face being yanked off the national grid. 

    Again, as per the NERC memo: “Where a generating unit records 90 consecutive days of FGC non-compliance, the affected generating unit shall be disconnected from the national grid.  Reconnection can only occur,” the order added, “after NISO [the Nigerian Independent System Operator] has certified the unit as fully compliant with the requirements of the Grid Code.”

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    However, a section of the GenCos appears unfazed by it all, as they told NERC to make good its threat.  ‘The Punch’ quoted Joy Ogaji, CEO of the Association of Power Generating Companies (APGC), to have retorted: “Then, no comment.  We wait for the implications.  We wait for them to disconnect us.  They should disconnect us today.”

    Aside Mrs. Ogaji, another unnamed voice, also responding to another question by ‘The Punch’, sounded no less daring as he alleged: “The sector is using GenCos to stabilise the grid.  Egbin has lost two units to this.  Let them just disconnect us.  Once we are disconnected, there will be no more debts.  GenCos are suffocating already.”

    The APGC lobby also alleged selective application of the rules.  While GenCos, they alleged, seemed over-watched, the NERC has left the transmission section to pretty much do whatever it likes: “Check the commission website and tell me one regulation implemented since 2017, except against GenCos.  GenCos are the most compliant,” it claimed.  “This threat of disconnection is actually what we want now.”

    Whatever the dissonance between NERC and GenCos, both sides should sit across the table to iron them out.  The power sector, though becoming stabler in some areas, is still too fragile to withstand an industry civil war, without something terrible giving in the economy; and even in Nigeria’s delicate social landscape.

    Besides, if GenCos are daring the industry regulator to do its worst, claiming NERC sanctions would at least save them from further debts, it would appear clearly logical that the real crisis might be the insecurity of GenCos’ revenue stream.  By the way, it’s no use for anyone to cut their noses to spite their faces. Even if sanctions hold the “prospects” of easing debts, how does a shut down, no matter how fleeting or temporary, help the long-term health of the offending GenCo, and the industry at large?  That is why all must jaw-jaw, not war-war.

    Still, even with the allegation of lack of regulation fairness toward GenCos in comparison to other industry players (which must be looked into), installing FGCs makes eminent sense.  Everyone gains by a more efficient and effective power industry — the supply: generation, transmission and distribution; and the demand: corporates, public and private, and households.  No one benefits from a yo-yo national grid, that buckles at the touch of the breeze. 

    So, rather than scowl at sanctions — which we believe must have been a last resort, following a pretty much shambolic culture among GenCos — all the industry players should view the new development as a win-win.  If it succeeds — and there is no reason it would not — the power sector would be the winner.

    Still, there is the little question of revenue security.  If GenCos seek pseudo-comfort in not acquiring more debts — though, that might be sarcasm brewed from ire — then the root might be the difficulty they face in getting money due to them from the distribution companies (DisCos).  That reality forced many latter-day ventures to explore the multi-shop approach, that grafts generation, transmission and distribution.  Still, there is a lot yet to sell in the division of labour that shaped the present structure.

    It’s that secure revenue and more enhanced value across the entire chain, that must have shaped the thinking, by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to, for a start, take one GenCo and two DisCos, to the stock market — as sample experiments.

    It’s a re-privatisation of a sort: with the federal and state governments offloading their 30 per cent (GenCo) and 40 per cent (DisCo) stakes on the investing public.  By that, the GenCo and DisCos would be fully privatised companies, with both transiting from half-utilities to full-blown private sector companies. 

    The Labour centres and advocates of a “mixed economy” might first kick against such moves but the thinking has great prospects of recapitalising these companies; and freeing the government of sectoral guarantees — and even subsidies — as the ventures would be free to shop for own capital, fully propelled by own boards and management, independent of any foreign control, bar NERC regulatory duties.

    Just imagine — as this newspaper has always advocated — these firms generating enough capital to meter everyone and close the huge metering gap, put at between 7.2 million and 7.4 million!  That major investment alone would stand players in good stead to promptly collect their bills.  Were that to happen, there would be less cases of DisCos not paying for power that GenCos supply them; and GenCos too, not meeting their liability commitments, aside investing in FGCs as NERC just directed.

    Of course, the requisite authorities must have built in processes and protocols that ensure fair pricing.  Besides, public sector power guzzlers, including the security agencies pretty notorious for defaulting in payment for power consumption, would know they now deal with strictly private enterprises, where cold pre-paid maters do all the talking.  That would further ensure the pay-as-you-go (PAYG) system that Wale Edun, the finance and economic coordination minister, just broached.

    After eons of operating a neither-nor system, neither public nor entirely private, perhaps this might be the crunch to straighten the power sector, once and for all.  With value enhanced all-round, there could well be less cause for NERC to issue ultimatums to GenCos; or for DisCos failing to promptly collect their revenues because of the huge metering gap.

  • Simon Ekpa’s conviction

    Simon Ekpa’s conviction

    A victory for the anti-terrorism war for which the Fed Govt deserves commendation

    Since 2021, Simon Ekpa, the Finland- based 40-year-old terrorist who had been coordinating attacks on innocent Nigerians and security agents in the South East, has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. He consistently incited violence and called for Biafran secession.

    He probably thought he was immune from arrest and prosecution since he was based abroad.

    However, the long arms of the law in an increasingly interdependent world has finally caught up with him, as a district court in his country of abode found him guilty of inciting violence and provoking terrorism in Nigeria.

    This is triumph for the rule of law.

    For almost one decade, the South East has been boiling, with many killed and maimed, schools and shops shut every Monday, government facilities attacked and razed, while minds of the people were turned against the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Had he been caught and brought to justice in Nigeria, he would have been charged with treason that would have attracted the death penalty.

    But then, it could have taken so many years to prosecute. His erstwhile leader, Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) is still being tried.

    Ekpa’s matter came up for hearing in Finland on May 30, and had been concluded before the end of June. On September 1, the three judges who heard the case sentenced him to a six-year jail term. This, hopefully, would serve as deterrence to those who think they could escape justice by switching jurisdiction.

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    The main victims of the Ekpa campaign are innocent people brainwashed that no force could contain the fire he had helped to ignite and kept aflame. Many of them lost their lives, many children were made orphans and school children missed external examinations, thus prolonging their education journeys.

    Propaganda on Radio Biafra and activities of the IPOB foot soldiers have subsided since the terror kingpin was arrested by the Finnish authorities, thus giving hope that insurgency on the Nigerian eastern flank would eventually peter out.

    But, government has a duty to ensure that substantial action is taken on the root cause of the aberrant behaviour. While it could be said that there could be no justification for citizens to take up arms against the government and embark on wanton killing of others, those recruited to join the crusade were easily cajoled by a perceived persecution and marginalisation.

    This general feeling among the people has to be countered by activities of government in terms of appointments and distribution of amenities. Whereas the Federal Government has consistently insisted that it is not working against any section of the country, propaganda can only be suppressed by sensitisation of the people to the truth and the consequences of joining forces against the country.

    The Federal Government deserves commendation for the role it played in supplying facts and documents that aided the prosecution and conviction of Ekpa. The Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, and his officials left no one at home and in Finland in doubt that nothing other than a conviction would serve the end of justice. This should serve others in the same boat with an indication of what awaits them if they continue travelling the same route.

    However, the fact that the action against Mazi Kanu is still pending before the Supreme Court does not speak well of the Nigerian Judicial System. Despite the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan shortly before he left office in 2015, justice remains generally delayed in the country. There are matters pending before the courts for almost one decade, and many even appear to have been forgotten as they no longer come up for mention in the courts.

    This is unacceptable in a democracy.

    The Bola Tinubu administration has taken a major step in motivating the judicial lords to faithfully discharge their responsibility, but the structure ought to be reviewed in the same way that he handled the system in Lagos when he was governor.

    Mr Ekpa may be in jail now, but he still has followers who believe in him. Besides, individuals could easily be replaced by organisations if urgent steps are not taken to dismantle the cells in Nigeria and root out those who had teamed up with him to torment the people.

    At a time when virtually all parts of the country are affected by various forms of insecurity, it must be noted that the fight should not be left for the armed forces only. All hands must be on deck to stem all forms of terrorism in the East, West, North and South.