By Sabiu Abdullahi 

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) have announced a nationwide strike scheduled for Wednesday, November 8, 2023.

The joint union’s decision stems from the alleged beating and abduction of their President, Joe Ajaero, during a protest in Imo State’s capital. 

Leaders of the NLC and TUC have issued a six-point demand to the Federal Government, calling for the immediate removal of the Commissioner of Police, Imo State, and the Area Commander, among other officials, accused of complicity in the brutalization and abduction of Ajaero and other workers.

Reports indicate that Ajaero was taken away by the police during a protest against the non-payment of workers by the Imo State Government. 

The NLC, in a strongly worded statement, accused Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, of conspiring with the state’s Commissioner of Police, Muhammed Barde, to abduct Ajaero.

The unions condemned what they described as the state government’s use of violence and intimidation against trade unions and their leadership, emphasizing that their only demand was the payment of overdue salaries to state workers. 

In response, the state’s Police Command and Governor Uzodimma vehemently denied the allegations, with the police claiming that Ajaero was in Warri, organizing labourers for a planned protest demonstration in the state.

The governor’s spokesperson, Declan Emelumba, dismissed the accusations, labeling the accusers as “mischief makers.” The NLC and TUC, however, remain steadfast in their demand for Ajaero’s release and have called for the intervention of President Bola Tinubu.

By Mustapha Abdurra’uf Tukur

The recent outpour of responses by the court of public opinion about the recent raid orchestrated by the Hisbah police in Kano was predictable. We live in an era of opinions, many of which are built not on concrete evidence and thorough understanding but on political and religious sentiments.

I will start by commending the good work done by the Kano State government in reappointing Sheik Aminu Daurawa to spearhead the activities of the Hisbah board. Considering his antecedents in Kano that inspired the same in other northern states, Daurawa genuinely deserved it. The Hisbah under his watch has started again by organising the mass wedding, which fits the stick and carrot approach in problem-solving.

However, as we continue to press down on amoral and delinquent activities, care must be taken not to dent the image of Kano and further plunge its economic viability and business friendliness to a lower ebb. The recent land issues didn’t help the cause.

Standards abound that could be set and upheld within the confines of law and human rights, which, fortunately, Islam upholds in very high esteem. As a student of knowledge, one comes to understand the care Islam gives in protecting dignity and using ethical and deliberate means to entice those astray back to its fold.

The laws establishing Hisbah as a government agency should be revisited such that powers be vested in them to be included in the licensing of the hospitality sector to ensure compliance with the religion and tradition of Kano.

As we seek to redress the amoral activities in this generation, particularly youths and underaged kids, who are constantly being involved in delinquencies, the best ways to tackle such is to enhance the scope the power and refine the activities of moral institutions, particularly in a conservative state like Kano.

A comprehensive law that protects such rights will propel Kano towards its full potential, making it much more peaceful and beautiful. Fulfilling the quotable of our mentor, Prof. Uba Abdallah, who professed, “He who is tired of Kano is tired of life…”

Allah ya ƙarawa Kano albarka.

Mustapha Abdurra’uf Tukur wrote via musteetk@gmail.com

By Sabiu Abdullahi 

The Nigerian Senate has passed the N2.18 trillion 2023 Supplementary Appropriation Bill, a request for consideration by President Bola Tinubu.

The bill, which was presented to the Senate during Tuesday’s plenary session, received expedited attention as requested by President Tinubu in his letter to the Senate. 

The Chairman of the Senate Committee of Appropriations, Solomon Adeola, laid the report before the Red Chamber on Thursday, leading to the bill’s express approval.

Reports indicate that the Committee on Appropriations had engaged with key ministers heading the agencies outlined in the supplementary budget, including the Minister of Works, David Umahi; Minister of Housing, Ahmed Dangiwa; Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari; Minister of State for Defence, Hon. Bello Matawale; and service chiefs. 

Prior to the bill’s passage, the Senate adopted a harmonised report compiled from discussions in both chambers concerning the 2023 Supplementary Appropriation Bill, submitted by Senator Adeola. Lawmakers emphasised that swift approval was in the best interest of the nation. 

Senator Adeola stated that his committee had meticulously reviewed the budget details with input from relevant sub-committees and heads of the benefiting ministries, departments, and agencies of the government. 

Following a thorough clause-by-clause consideration, the Senate adopted the Committee’s report without any alterations, returning it to the President.

This decisive action underscores the Senate’s commitment to national fiscal responsibility and ensuring the timely allocation of resources for the country’s development projects.

By Prof. Abdalla Uba Adamu

I was tagged in a Facebook thread lamenting the perceptions of Hausa popular culture studies by Muhsin Ibrahim on how such a course of action is looked down upon. Indeed, he related personal bad experiences on his encounter with what one might call ‘culture purists’ who do not see anything worthwhile studying about contemporary popular culture. I feel that my response should be enlarged beyond the one I gave in order to reach wider audiences and stimulate debate.

‘So, what exactly is ‘popular culture’? Without being bogged down by technicalities, it is simply what people like. Often referred to also ‘mass culture’. Which differentiates from the ‘elite culture’ preferences of the high order of the society. Elite culture is often favoured because it is seen as cultural representative due to its historical purity. For instance, Shata is an elite culture, while Rarara is a popular culture. Both are singers. But while Shata was a griot whose lyrics represent the historical antecedents of his society and culture, Rarara is a singer whose lyrics represent his pocket.

Thus, everything people do can come under the purview of popular culture – fashion, food, literature, cyberculture, sports, architecture, theatre, drama, films, music, art, you name it, it is popular culture. It is the dominant culture. Some of the universities that teach popular culture in the world include Harvard, Cambridge, MIT, and Stanford, to name some of the top ones, plus thousands of others.

So, why study popular culture? There are many reasons, but one of the most compelling is social awareness. Such a study makes us aware of important social issues. You may not follow Hausa TV show operas, but they illuminate critical tensions within communities, and some reflect the ideals of the political culture; Ado Ahmad Gidan Dabino’s “Kwana Casa’in” is a case in point. Mediated popular culture gives creators opportunities to be creative.

Thus, popular culture can raise awareness about important social issues. TV shows, films, and music often address topics like discrimination, environmental concerns and mental health, sparking discussions and encouraging positive change. For instance, in Kano in early 2023, AA Rufai Bullgates [sic], an individual with mental health issues, became a popular culture media celebrity due to his delusions of grandeur; at one stage, he bought Kano State for ‘gangaliyan’ naira – his coinage. It took social media to make people aware of the extent of his illness – and stop exploiting his guile.

The contempt with which we approach studies of Hausa popular culture – or, let me modify, modern/contemporary culture – allowed a big room for others to be experts on us. In this way, researchers such as Mathias Krings, Carmen McCain, Novian Whitsitt, Brian Larkin and Graham Furniss came to dominate the documentation of Hausa popular culture.

In 2007, I was a visitor to Graham Furniss’s house in London for lunch, and I was blown away by a bookshelf covering a whole wall devoted to his documentation of Hausa romantic (soyayya) fiction containing over one thousand volumes. In Kano, we refused even to acknowledge such novels existed, and at one conference, I heard a University librarian describing them as ‘trash’. Now, if you want to study the earlier novels in the genre, you can only find them in the Library of the School of Oriental and African Studies, courtesy of Graham Furniss – while they are not available at Bayero University, Kano.

Novian Whitsitt, an American, became an expert on the feminist ideologies of Bilkisu Salisu Ahmed Funtuwa and Balaraba Ramat Yakubu – two wonderful and brilliant female writers we ignored. He made a name out of researching their novels – and he had to learn the Hausa language first before he could even read the novels. In Kano, where we speak Hausa, we looked down on these writers. Now, if you want any reference to the works of these ladies, you have to go to Amazon for his books, for he is considered an expert on Hausa feminist writers.

Matthias Krings collected more Hausa cinema tapes than any European researcher and established a vibrant Hausa film reference library at Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany, where he is based. In Kano, we refused even to acknowledge that Hausa film is worth studying – until we gave the study a shove and held an international conference on Hausa films in 2003 – the first of its kind in the whole of Africa in studying an indigenous African language film industry. Even the practitioners – filmmakers, producers, directors – don’t see the value in studying their works, believing that such is done to denigrate them rather than a critical analysis of their art. When I established Yahoo! Groups social network in 2001 – long before Facebook – those who entered the group were constantly fighting us for studying their art.

In any event, it was Brian Larkin from New York who even opened up the doors in 1997 with his brilliant paper, “Indian Films and Nigerian Lovers: Media and the Creation of Parallel Modernities.” Soon enough, he became the only reference point on the emergence of modern-mediated Hausa popular culture. I could go on, but you get the point.

As for music, no one cared – until the Talibanic censorship regime from 2007 to 2013 in Kano favourably enabled the separation of Nanaye soundtrack music from Hausa films, creating an independent Hausa Afropop music genre. It also led to the emergence of Rap music among young Hausa lyricists in 2013 – the year of creative freedom for Hausa popular culture. Billy-O produced the biggest hit Hausa Afropop hit of the year with ‘Rainy Season’, producing a brilliant Engausa song accompanied by Maryam Fantimoti.

No attempt was made to internationalise the study of the emergent music genres by anyone. They were all obsessed with studies of the songs of griot acoustic musicians, believing that the Afropop genre was a passing fad. Seeing a room for documentation, I entered into the field. In any event, I was considered a loose cannon in the whole Hausa ‘adabi’ canon. Luckily for me, my foray into Hausa popular culture, or ’Adabin Hausa’ as they often call it (while I prefer ‘Nishaɗin Hululu as the Hausa term for popular culture), was from the prisms of Stuart Hall (Birmingham School) and Frankfurt School critical theory perspectives.

Most importantly, I was analysing popular culture as a mass-mediated communication, rooting myself firmly in communication theories. I was not interested in etymology, morphology, syntax, grammar, pragmatics, stylistics or other branches of the study of literature in my analysis (I profess ignorance of these branches). My focus was that something was happening; it was providing a stethoscope on the social awareness pulse. We need to document it. It was no longer acceptable to let others become experts on us.

Thus, studying or even debating mediated popular culture was definitely frowned upon in northern Nigeria. I believe I am one of the few flying the flag of the discipline – such that it has now crept its way into a university curriculum. Next semester (December 2022/23), I will be teaching M.Sc. Popular Culture in the Department of Mass Communication – one of the very few Departments in the country courageous and bold enough to do so. It’d be a fully interactive class, touching all aspects of what gives us social awareness through mediated popular culture.

Now, to the question of Murja Ibrahim Kunya, a TikTok influencer who speaks at more than 100 km per second. She is important enough to have a Wikipedia page. Dr. Muazu Hassan Muazu was one of the lecturers teaching the EEP 4201 – Venture Creation and Growth course in the School of General and Entrepreneurship Studies (SGES), Bayero University Kano. We once taught the course together. In the first semester (2022/2023) examination, question #5 went like this: “Murja Kunya and Me Wushirya are bloggers who trend by causing scandalous contents on their social media handles, for that reason, they are given advertisement jobs. If they do that, they become – (a) influencer marketers, (b) brand ambassadors, (c) trading agents, (d) marketing managers.” Students are to choose one which they believe was the correct answer.

What drew attention was the focus on the activities of TikTokers – activities not taken seriously, especially those of Murja Kunya, who elicited different reactions from different people. One posting on Facebook even labelled her a mental health patient. And yet, here, a university is asking academic questions about their activities. The entire 70-item question paper included references to various brands – KEDCO, Rufaidah, Salima Cake, A.A. Rano, L&Z Yoghourt, Sahad Stores, MTN, Chicken Republic, and so on. All these are marketing HUBS. Why not TikTokers?

Marketers are looking for audiences – notice how those silly and irritating videos pop up on news sites on your device to attract your attention. Dr. Mu’azu’s inclusion of cyber popular culture in his course – and Chicken Republic, dealing with food, IS part of popular culture – to me, is a brilliant acknowledgement of popular culture and its social relevance. Crazy, drugged, attention-seeker or not, people follow Murja Kunya. That means audiences, that means market – making her a perfect vehicle to advertise products. So, what’s wrong with that? If a woman frying ƙosai by the roadside has the same level of audience attraction, we should also acknowledge her as a marketing potential. That does not mean we endorse what they do – it means we are interested in reaching out to their audiences to buy our products.

Without pop culture, we wouldn’t be able to understand generations, so knowing gives us all a better understanding. Overall, a critical analysis of pop culture and media can help to shed light on the ways in which media interacts with society and can help to promote a more informed and nuanced understanding of media’s role in shaping our world.

Now, print Ale Rufa’is Bullgates gangaliyan note and purchase your village.

By Sabiu Abdullahi 

The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero, is set to be flown abroad for medical treatment after sustaining injuries during a violent incident in Imo State.

Ajaero was in Owerri on Wednesday, November 1, to mobilise Imo workers for a peaceful protest rally against alleged violations of workers’ rights and privileges by the state government. 

The planned peaceful protest took a chaotic turn when allegations surfaced that thugs had attacked the protesters and labour leaders.

During the scuffle, Ajaero sustained injuries that necessitated specialised medical attention, making it impossible for him to be treated at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Owerri. 

Benson Upah, the NLC Publicity Secretary, confirmed the decision to seek medical treatment abroad due to the nature of Ajaero’s injuries.

The incident has raised concerns about the safety of activists and the need for peaceful demonstrations in the country. 

The NLC, along with various human rights organisations, has condemned the violent attack and called for a thorough investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Meanwhile, arrangements are being made to transport Ajaero abroad, where he will receive the necessary medical care to recover from his injuries. 

By Mukhtar Garba Kobi

The barbaric act of abducting people by some bad elements in the Northern part of Nigeria is one of the major threats to the endearing peace and economic growth; bandits operate on roads, communities and recently in institutions of higher learning. News of an unspecified number of farmers in Borno and students of Federal University Dutsen-Ma has gone viral lately; bereaved families of the victims are still in shock while many resolved to withdraw their wards from schools; this is bad looking at the importance of education to mankind and development of all. People in those areas are doubting the promises made by leaders on protecting lives and properties.

Nobody on this mother earth is above the law. In some developed countries, even incumbent leaders are forced to face the jury and account for their mischievous deeds in office. Still, unfortunately, in Africa, the existence of immunity attached to leaders gives them the audacity to do as they wish.

One of the bandits’ kingpins in the Northern part of Nigeria, Dogo Gide, released an audio message which a well-known media man, Bello Mu’azu, shared. Still, the message contained has added fuel to the blazing fire of insecurity. The dreaded Dogo Gide stated that he preferred to die as a bandit and had no interest in reconciling with the government, no matter the money given to him.

Since most of the bandits’ hideouts are known by our gallant security forces, they (bandits) could be cleared in a few days, but such only end in discussions. Public figures have made excellent attempts to mediate between bandits and governments. Unfortunately, their efforts were fruitless due to the negligence of the government. There is no way fire could be put out with the same fire, but combining the two (attacks and dialogue) would greatly help. Moreover, engaging in dialogue would pave the way for peace in most kidnapping-ravaged States. Culturing crops and businesses would regain their lost glories while students would learn without fear.

Furthermore, research conducted by SBM, which is an investigative firm, revealed that between June of 2022 and July of 2023, three thousand six hundred and twenty (3,620) people were taken hostage in five hundred and eighty-two (582) kidnap-related incidents in Nigeria. It was further uncovered that “North-West and North-Central regions exhibit higher in-kind ransom demands. This aligns with Nigeria’s poverty and its correlation with areas where food is commonly demanded. Additionally, these regions have seen a surge in motorcycle demands due to economic opportunities and possibly because of their potential use in terror activities”.

Some of the factors that fuel kidnappings include high levels of poverty and hunger; waking up empty-pocketed and nothing for family members to consume have forced many into the act, especially unemployed Fulani herders. The second factor is greed and uncontrolled love to be rich, which also persuaded many into kidnappings; shallow-minded persons often view abduction as the easiest way to get enough money to meet their daily needs. Kidnappers play vital roles in influencing their friends; they give uninterested friends convincing points while those low faculty of thinking accept the offer without a second thought on the implications of such ventures. 

The mass abduction of people can be stopped if the following measures are adopted: schemes for employing youths or training them on skills have left behind several villagers, and most of the arrested kidnappers were dwellers; there is a need for the villagers to be included in whatever government came-up with. Since kidnappers have leaders, there is a need to have a virtual or physical meeting with them to know why they are kidnapping. Governments should ensure that their demands are met. Granting amnesty to repentant kidnappers would be a welcome idea, but they should not be reintegrated back into societies. They should be taken to rehabilitation homes and trained on different skills to be useful community members. 

Mukhtar writes from Bauchi and can be reached via garbakobim@gmail.com.

By Muhammad Suleiman Adam

Yobe state Governor Mai Mala Buni said he would personally supervise the implementation of the Sustainable Solutions for Long-Term Displaced persons (SOLID) project to ensure the success of the programme in the state.

He stated this on Wednesday when a team from the World Bank paid him a working visit in Damaturu. 

“I am delighted to welcome yet another initiative by the World Bank to support the state government in implementing more sustainable solutions for long-term displaced persons and to support the host communities in dealing with the challenges they face” Buni said

He further said Yobe is the second most affected state that recorded massive destruction of facilities and infrastructure by the insurgency, therefore, the need for additional facilities to support government efforts to effectively serve the people cannot be overemphasized as some of the displaced persons have chosen to settle permanently in the host communities.

He commended the World Bank and other development partners for supporting the recovery efforts of the state government in resettling displaced persons in their communities with dignity.

He directed MDAs to ensure full participation for ownership and sustainability of the SOLID project “the MDAs should identify areas of intervention and ensure harmonization for greater impact across the state”.

Leader of the delegation, Fuad Malkawea, commended the positive interventions made by the Multi Sectoral Crisis Recovery Project (MCRP) another World Bank programme in the state.

He assured that the partnership would further provide support to the host communities.

“The intervention is to provide support to existing facilities some of which are over stretched” he observed. 

By Sa’id Sa’ad

Earlier this year – when Bello Galadanci’s videos were becoming popular on digital platforms – a colleague posted a video of his skit on his WhatsApp status. From what might be a simple curiosity, I asked him if he knew who the person was – of course, expecting him to at least know a bit – but he replied that he did not know him beyond his not-so-much-funny recent “comedy skits.”

That was weeks after the publication of my recent essay, A Crack on Hadiza Gabon’s Wall: Humanizing Northern Nigeria Storytelling, where I described what the show meant to storytelling in Northern Nigeria and the impact of what I called “hypocritical denial and intentional lack of acknowledgement” from the northern community. As it has always been, I bumped into a tweet where a young person from “northern” Nigeria condemned the entire comedy skits made by Bello Galadanci. If I weren’t from the North, I would have wondered why Northern consumers always find a way to devalue Northern content creators in whatever discipline. But I didn’t, because I understood the game. So. Well. It is nothing to raise a brow at, mainly because, as creatives, criticism as such is often expected, “Thanks for the PR” was the short response Galadanchi gave him.

Even with the recent trooping of young creators into the skit-making industry in Nigeria, majorly due to its financial and digital-popularity lakes tunnelled by TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, one could guess accurately – as most other useful or even useless “developmental” growth – that adoption of content creation as a business by young people in Northern Nigeria, came very late, as well. It is difficult to mention by name – the northern skit creators who began early – and still maintain the same consistency as one would mention Taoma or Aproko Doctor or Mr. Macaroni from the South. Only Galadanchi and a few others still retain their craft consistently.

Many young people in northern Nigeria continue to comment, criticise, or label Bello Galadanchi and his skits in multiple ways.

Aside from the unpopular northern Nigeria population that perceives his skit as the “working-for-the-white” theory (or the painting north black belief), and the many who – due to educational standards and exposure – fail to comprehend the satirical nature of his contents, most of those who do not find him funny do so due to Broda-Shaggying or Sabinufying Galadanchi’s skit.

Unlike most skit makers in Nigeria, whose focus is majorly only on sowing laughter and entertainment into the market and reaping their golds, built on creative juice – Galadanchi’s contents are meant for social and political commentary using humour and satire. Backed by journalism, creative, and educationalist careers, it might seem almost impossible for Galadanchi – even by himself – to create non-questionable or fluid content only meant for laughter because creatives are muscled with the hunger to correct and change using their art. His could be simplified as addressing serious problems without being too serious.

Therefore, this makes it difficult for those Broda-Shaggying and Sabinufying him to comprehend the content as, thus, they expect a consciously endowed full-length comedy. I don’t mean to belittle content created by skit makers whose conscious aim is to create a hundred-percent comedy piece. However, expecting an all-comedy-induced piece from a skit maker whose purpose is challenging social and political ills using humour could be as good as expecting something from nothing.

While writing this essay, I shared on WhatsApp status a short clip from an interview Bello Galadanchi granted CGTN where he sat on stairs with three other Chinese, in a swagger-spirited looks with polished accent and blonde hair. Most GenZ’s (respectfully) responded to have known him only through his comedy and never “expected” him to be this “polished”, so far away from what they expected Dan Bello (his character) to be.

That means most of those who denigrate his content would have been from their “expected lens” through which they measure him to be. As argued in my previous essay above – could this also be what I called “hypocritical denial and intentional lack of acknowledgement” of the northern population for contents and creators coming from the north? Because, of course, what Bello Galandanchi is doing for northern Nigeria-specific social and political issues is what Aproko Doctor is exactly doing for Nigeria’s health sector and health-related issues.

Though satire could emerge in professional, amateur, elitist, and popular forms, those who do not comprehend his satire might also be due to their level of comprehension rather than the perceived educational standard or exposure. However, I believe both play a role here. Of course, satire is meant to use humour and irony to criticise, as in the case of the Nigerian writer Elnathan John with his famous book, Be(com)ing Nigerian. However, because Galadanci focuses on the “North”, he is quickly labelled with the “working-for-the-white theory”.

Perhaps if Elnathan’s book was a digital piece as Galadanci’s – and produced in the same form and language – the same label could have been blanketed for him, too. Sometimes, the theory sounds a lot like a comedy skit as well because even a deported northerner fighting the cause of his people – in any way different from the (usual) northern norms – would be considered brainwashed to work for the whites.

More so, those who do not comprehend the satire in the contents are often blindfolded from seeing the patriotism in these pieces. If not for a deep love for a people, I wonder how one would continue to create these provocative contents that question deep political ills in the region. While also soaking insults from young people in the same region who barely understood the depth of what his craft was uprooting.

However, looking at his pieces of art critically (beyond Broda-Shaggying them), how they are deeply immersed in satire and sheer creativity, one could vividly tell how varying it is from the contents created by other skit makers. If other skit makers called theirs “contents”, a creative could easily describe Galadanchi’s as a “piece of art”. The beauty in the work is so immense that one could smell creative fragrances all over the place.

Imagine if the digital youths in the north focus on – if not creating – promoting creators from the region rather than policing social media in the holy name of the north. Imagine if we all question the system in the individual creative juices deposited in us. Imagine if we learn to place a market value on the creators and contents from the north rather than wasting our time watching these wayward girls crowd-chasing nonsense on TikTok in Hausa and serving them to your screen back-to-back. Imagine if we focus on the problems rather than those who help us understand the problem. Imagine if we don’t call for the heads of those who create alphabets to remind us of where we are.

Galadanchi didn’t just find questioning the ill social and political system for Nigerians in Nigeria. He has lived with the system, experienced the system and carried dozens of scars from the system to wherever the world took him.

If these pieces of art are what come out from creatives whom the ill Nigerian system has wounded, then very soon, the Bello Galadanchi in all of us will prevail.

Sa’id Sa’ad is a Nigerian writer, poet, and playwright from Maiduguri. He won the Peace Panel Short Story Prize 2018 and the NFC Essay Prize 2018. He tweets @saidsaadwrites and can be reached directly via saidsaadabubakar@gmail.com.

By Sabiu Abdullahi 

Imo State witnessed increased tensions as Joe Ajaero, the National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), was reportedly arrested by Nigeria Police Force operatives in Owerri on Wednesday.

Ajaero was taken into custody at the NLC state council secretariat, according to Benson Upah, the Head of Information at NLC, and subsequently transported to an undisclosed location. 

This development followed the NLC’s announcement of an impending total strike in Imo State, set to commence on November 1, 2023.

Ajaero had accused Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma of neglecting workers’ welfare and violating their rights.

He highlighted several issues, including prolonged non-payment of salaries, the wrongful categorization of workers and pensioners as ghost beneficiaries, and non-compliance with the national minimum wage. 

During a press briefing held on Sunday, Ajaero criticised the state government’s refusal to honour past agreements and its resistance to engaging in social dialogue and collective bargaining.

He underscored the grave consequences, citing reports of workers losing their lives due to the alleged lack of salary payments. 

The arrest of Ajaero has intensified the labour dispute, raising concerns about the ongoing situation in Imo State.

The NLC and its members continue to demand fair treatment and the fulfilment of workers’ rights.

As the state government faces mounting pressure to address these grievances, the labour unrest in Imo State remains a cause for growing apprehension and scrutiny.

By Sabiu Abdullahi

President Bola Tinubu has issued a strict warning against unauthorised attendance at Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings.

Specifically addressing his son, Seyi Tinubu, and other individuals, President Tinubu emphasised the need for adherence to established security protocols during the vital national discussions. 

The president named the only approved attendees, including his Special Advisers and key staff members, stressing that no one else should participate without his explicit invitation.

He directed top officials to enforce this directive, ensuring the integrity of FEC meetings. 

President Tinubu also praised the recent successful bilateral meetings with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and urged ministers to focus on innovative reforms to attract investors.

He noted the importance of creative solutions for enhancing Nigeria’s investment opportunities.