The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has commended President Bola Tinubu for achieving the breakthrough on the long-awaited minimum wage for Nigerian workers, saying the private sector looks forward to President Bola Tinubu’s promise to assist the sector, among others, for compliance.

Its Director-General, Mr Segun Ajayi-Kadir, made the commendation while reacting to the N70,000 minimum wage agreement by President Tinubu and leaders of labour unions on Thursday in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that aside from the minimum wage increase from the current N30,000 to N70,000, President Tinubu assured that it would be reviewed after three years.

He also promised to find ways to assist the private sector and the sub-nationals to pay the minimum wage.

The MAN D-G stated that manufacturers looked forward to the promised assistance, urging the private sector to hold onto the President’s promise in this regard to enable the private sector onboard with the agreement.

“In this regards, I would assume that reference would be made to the demands made by the Organised Private Sector at the concluding stage of the tripartite negotiations.

“We had intimated the committee with the challenges confronting businesses in the private sector and that there was the need to ameliorate those challenges in order to improve the capacity of our members to pay the minimum wage that we offered.

“We maintained that those binding constraints may constitute impediments to the full compliance of our members when the minimum wage is signed into law.

“So, the assumption is that Mr President will give expedite consideration to those challenges and take necessary steps to address them.

“This will go a long way in onboarding the private sector in the new agreement on the minimum wage,” he said.

Ajayi-Kadir presented a list of demands to enable the private sector take on payments of the new minimum wage.

He said that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) should be exempted from compliance in view of their incapacity and prevailing operational challenges.

He added that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should redeem all validly transacted outstanding foreign exchange forwards for companies in the productive sector.

Ajayi-Kadir called for the reversal of an increase in electricity tariffs or only 100 per cent increase in electricity tariff for a minimum of 20 hours of supply.

He proposed duty exemption on imported conversion kits, government subsidy on procurement of same and a freeze on the introduction of new taxes on businesses for the next five years.

“We call for a fixed rate of N800 for the assessment of import duty on all production inputs and also advocate a revisit of the recent Financial Reporting Council regulation to curtail its application to private businesses.

“We also call for the discontinuation of the Price Verification Portal as it is inimical to the smooth operation of businesses and the basis for setting it up no longer exists.

“We are optimistic that the positive atmosphere created by the recent agreement between government and labour would facilitate speedy consideration and acceptance of aforementioned,” he said.

(NAN)

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has upheld the election of Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the governor of Kogi State.

The three-member panel of justices, in a judgement delivered on Thursday, July 11, 2024, agreed with the state election tribunal that the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its governorship candidate, Murtala Ajaka, failed to prove all the allegations in their petition beyond reasonable doubt.

The Appeal Court held that the petitioners’ witnesses were incompetent because their statements did not accompany the petition in line with electoral laws.

The appellate court also held that the issue of alleged certificate forgery against Ododo ought to have commenced at the Federal High Court, being a pre-election matter.

The Appeal Court held that the appellants could not prove their case “beyond reasonable doubt”, thereby upholding Ododo’s election.

SDP and Ajaka had, in the petition, sued the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Ododo, and APC as 1st to 3rd respondents, respectively.

The former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor said he was thinking he would leave the Herbert Wigwe behind.

A former Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, broke down in tears on Wednesday while paying tribute to former Group Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings Plc, Herbert Wigwe.

Addressing the crowd present for the night of tribute to the 57-year-old, the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor said he was thinking he would leave Herbert.

“I was thinking I would die and leave Herbert. We have all heard about him, about his loyalty,” he said in an emotionally laden voice.

He recalled how the late banker stood by his side all through his travails after being removed as Emir of Kano by former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.

According to the former Emir, Herbert assured him of his unflinching support and loyalty.

To match words with action, Lamido said Herbert provided a plane for him at the tarmac in Kano to convey him to Lagos.

“When I had problems in Kano, I called him about six months before I was told to leave Kano. I said to him, ‘Herbert I know you are doing all your best to solve all these problems, but I am convinced that this is what is going to happen.

“He said to me, ‘Your Highness, don’t worry. Whatever happens, don’t worry. We are here for you.’ On the day I heard on the radio that I was dethroned, I called him and said I wanted to come to Lagos.

“The announcement was made about 9 am, by noon Herbert had a plane at the tarmac in Kano. The plan then was to take me into exile for many years. I put my family on that plane and sent them to Lagos, with no phone calls. Herbert received them and put them in a hotel.

“Later, he got them accommodation. For months, when I came, they stayed there. Your Highness, if you want to travel, just call Shola.”

The former CBN said the late Access Bank CEO and his partner Aig Imoukhuede, were crucial to his success during his five-year stint at the apex bank.

He also narrated how they helped resolve a serious challenge in the banking sector at the time.

“The objective then was to link the banking sector assets to the real economy and Aig and Herbert in Access Bank were chosen as the chairpersons on the subcommittee on economic development. Most of what I achieved in the Central Bank would not have been possible without them.”

“About two years ago, I put all my savings in a trust for the education of my children because I have many. My priority as a father is to make sure that when I pass away, they will have a good education.

“Paul was a solicitor put in that trust, Herbert was the lead protector. Paul will remember when we had the first formal meeting, I said, ‘Herbert I am placing you in charge of this trust for the education of my children because I know that even if I died and did not leave any money, you will educate our children,” he said.