Good Morning. Here’s a recap of top trending news stories this morning.
1. President Bola Tinubu, has reacted to the trending video of him tripping at Eagle Square in Abuja on Democracy Day, saying that the mishap was merely a “dobale” or Yoruba gesture of respect, and that democracy was worth falling for. Despite the fall, Tinubu quickly regained his footing and carried on with the scheduled events, emphasizing that the importance of democracy surpassed any temporary embarrassment.
2. State governors have called for the refund of state governments’ full equity investments in the $10bn National Integrated Power Projects that are under the management of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company. The governors under their umbrella body-Nigeria Governors’ Forum-said the Federal Government should refund an equitable rate of return on their investments in the power plants.
3. Amid the commemoration of Democracy Day celebration, activists in Lagos and Abuja, took to the streets to protest against the deepening hunger crisis gripping the nation. Holding banners emblazoned with slogans like: “This hunger is too much” and “Reverse anti-people policies”, they demanded immediate action to alleviate the plight of the starving populace.
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4. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has insisted on N250,000 as minimum wage and faulted President Bola Tinubu’s comment over the matter. President Tinubu during his Democracy Day speech said an executive bill on the new national minimum wage for workers will soon be sent to the National Assembly for passage. But the NLC has faulted the remark, insisting it won’t back down or settle for the N62,000 offer by the committee on the new minimum wage.
5. A five storey building under construction at Dennis Memorial Grammar School (DMGS) on Wednesday collapsed in Onitsha, Anambra State. The collapse occurred around 7:15 a.m, with the structure caving in from the top floor down to rubble. While confirming that there were no immediate fatalities, sources within the school raised concerns about the fate of those trapped beneath the debris.
6. Tiv communities in Nasarawa State have raised the alarm over the alleged forceful acquisition of 10,000 hectares of their ancestral land by the state government. They described the development as violations of their fundamental rights and threats to their security and socioeconomic well-being.
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7. The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Ibrahim Lamuwa, has been suspended by the Office of the Head of Service over a sexual harassment allegation. The Head of Service, Folashade Yemi-Esan, said the permanent secretary would be on suspension pending the outcome of a probe into the allegation against him.
8. The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) says two of its towers, T193 and T194, along the Damaturu-Maiduguri 330 Kilo Volt (KV Single Circuit) transmission line have again been destroyed by vandals. TCN’S General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, said this in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday. According to her, the incident happened at about 10:15 p.m. on Tuesday night, when the 150 Mega Volt Ampere (MVA) power transformer at Molai Substation tripped.
9. Only 5.3 million Nigerians working in the formal sector will benefit from the new minimum wage, available data have shown. In other words, of Nigeria’s total population of 229 million people, 76 million (33.2 per cent) are workers, but not all of them will directly benefit from the wage increase because of some factors, analysts say.
10. The Delta State High Court sitting in Asaba on Tuesday sentenced Inspector Ubi Ebri of the Nigeria Police Force to death on a murder charge. The court, presided over by Justice C. D. Diai, convicted and sentenced the inspector to death for killing a phone dealer, Mr. Onyeka Ibeh, in Asaba.