The Federal Government has directed members of the striking Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) and the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) to “urgently” call off their over-two-month-old strike. The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, gave the directive in a statement on Tuesday, threatening that the government might be forced to invoke “sections of the Trade Disputes Acts” if the strike persisted longer. The threat is a government’s familiar warning of possible introduction of “no-work-no-pay” policy to break adamant striking workers. “The ministry will not be happy to be pushed into invoking sections of the Trade Disputes Acts capable of eroding all the gains made so far in the negotiations since May 6, 2021,” the statement signed by the ministry of Labou...
Antonio Conte has major doubts about becoming Tottenham’s next head coach and is inclined to turn them down, according to Sky Italy. Spurs have been in talks with the former Chelsea boss, who left Inter Milan after winning Serie A last month. But after considering the role for several days, Conte remains unconvinced Spurs are a team ready to win trophies immediately. The Italian has won five league titles in the last decade and is looking for another ‘winning project’. He is trying to understand if it is possible to bridge the gap with the top four or five Premier League teams in a short period of time – with Spurs having finished 24 points behind champions Manchester City. It is understood Spurs would not pressure him to win trophies. If the parties fail to strike a deal, Conte could also...
Russia on Friday called a U.S. decision to not rejoin the Open Skies arms control pact, which allows unarmed surveillance flights over member countries, a political mistake that strikes a sour note ahead of a summit, Russian news agencies reported. The United States told Russia on Thursday it would not rejoin the pact, which Washington left in November, accusing Russia of violating it, something Moscow denied. The original decision to quit the pact was taken by the administration of then U.S. president Donald Trump and Moscow had hoped that Joe Biden would reverse that decision. Sergei Ryabkov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, was quoted by the RIA news agency on Friday as saying that Moscow was disappointed but not entirely surprised by Biden’s decision. “It certainly does not make us ha...
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corp renewed Oil Mining Lease 118 with the local subsidiaries of Shell, Total, Exxon and Eni for another 20 years, the West African country’s state oil firm said in a statement on Tuesday. The deal signals the end of “long-standing disputes over the interpretation of the fiscal terms of the production-sharing contracts” between the investors in the field, the statement said. The Nigerian government will immediately recognise revenues of $780 million from the signing of the agreement, “while it would also free the parties from over $9 billion in contingent liabilities,” the statement said. The deal was signed between NNPC, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeri...
As discussions surrounding the 2023 presidential election gathers pace, South East Governors and other politicians from the region have been warned against ‘angling for the position of Vice President’. The Association of South East Past Presidents-General, which gave the warning in Enugu at the weekend, said the zone would not accept any one reducing it to ‘second fiddle political status’ in 2023. At an official public presentation of the former Chief Judge of Anambra State, Justice Peter Umeadi, who is also a Professor of Law, the association said the general consensus by equity, justice and fair play was that the next President of the country should emerge from the South East. The former PGs, who lead the over 2000 Igbo communities in the past, stressed that with such understanding, it w...
Kaduna strike: Northern governors call for calm
The Northern Governors Forum has called for calm and dialogue between Kaduna State Government and organised labour, to resolve the ongoing warning strike by workers in the state. The Chairman of the forum and Governor of Plateau, Mr Simon Lalong, made the call in a statement by his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Dr. Makut Macham, on Tuesday in Jos. He said the forum was concerned of the impact of the strike on the state and its residents following the lockdown of economic activities in the state. The chairman noted that dialogue and negotiations were effective tools of addressing dispute in labour relations. He called for restraint and de-escalation of the situation to enable amicable resolutions. He pointed out that peaceful resolution was only possible when both parties operate wi...