New minimum wage : Labour suspends strike

The organised labour has called off the nationwide strike scheduled to commence on Tuesday.

The industrial action was meant to press home workers’ demand for an upward review of minimum wage.

At the end of the meeting of the tripartite committee set up by the federal government, Ayuba Wabba, president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), told reporters that the decision to suspend the industrial action was taken after agreements were reached and documents signed.

“Having reached this position and agreements signed, the proposed strike action is hereby suspended,” he said.

Efforts to resolve the disagreement between government and labour initially suffered a set back on Monday as both parties failed to reach consensus on the minimum wage.

After meeting for over seven hours, the two teams arrived at different figures. While labour insisted on N30,000, the government delegation proposed N24,000.

Chris Ngige, minister of labour, had said the two figures would be forwarded to President Muhammadu Buhari for approval.

The meeting continued at 10pm and after two hours of deliberation, both sides agreed on an amount.

Wabba, who did not disclose the figure of the new minimum wage arrived at by the committee, said only the amount would be presented to Buhari.

He said the amount would only be made public after the committee’s report would have been presented to the president by 4.15pm on Tuesday.

He thanked all their tripartite partners for its understanding while particularly, appreciating the role of the private sector.

Ama Pepple, chairman of the committee,  expressed delight that the assignment had been concluded.

“I am happy to report to you that we have concluded our assignment and we will submit our report to the President by 4.15pm on Tuesday,” she said.

“We will reveal the figure at the presentation.” - TheCable

Internet inventor regrets debasement of world wide web

The inventor of the World Wide Web, British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee on Monday lamented the debasement of the world wide web, since he founded it almost 30 years ago.

“All kinds of things have gone wrong. We have fake news, we have problems with privacy, we have people being profiled and manipulated,” he said in an opening address.

Berners-Lee, who in 1989 invented the World Wide Web as a way to exchange information, said the internet had deviated from the goals its founders had envisaged.

He now called for a “contract” to make internet safe and accessible for everyone as Europe’s largest tech event began in Lisbon, Portugal amid a backlash over its role in spreading “fake news”.

Some 70,000 people are expected to take part in the four-day Web Summit, dubbed “the Davos for geeks”, including speakers from leading global tech companies, politicians and start-ups hoping to attract attention from the over 1,500 investors who are scheduled to attend.

Tech firms now find themselves on the defensive, with critics accusing them of not doing enough to curb the spread of “fake news” which has helped polarise election campaigns around the world and of maximising profits by harvesting data on consumers’ browsing habits.

Berners-Lee, 63, called on governments, companies and citizens to iron out a “complete contract” for the web that will make the internet “safe and accessible” for all by May 2019, the date by which 50 percent of the world will be online for the first time.

He has just launched Inrupt, a start-up which is building an open source platform called “Solid” which will decentralise the web and allow users to choose where their data is kept, along with who can see and access it.

Solid intends to allow users to bypass tech giants such as Google and Facebook. The two tech giants now have direct influence over nearly three quarters of all internet traffic thanks to the vast amounts of apps and services they own such as YouTube, WhatsApp and Instagram.

Employees of Google, Facebook and other tech giants have in recent months gone public with their regrets, calling the products they helped build harmful to society and overly addictive.

Tech giants are also under fire for having built up virtual monopolies in their areas.

Amazon accounts for 93 percent of all e-book sales while Google swallows up 92 percent of all European internet-search ad spending.

“I think technology is going through a funk… it’s a period of reflection,” Web Summit founder and CEO Paddy Cosgrave told AFP.

“With every new technology you go through these cycles. The initial excitement of the printed press was replaced in time by a great fear that it was actually a bad thing. Over time it has actually worked out OK.”

Among those scheduled to speak at the event is Christopher Wylie, a whistleblower who earlier this year said users’ data from Facebook was used by British political consultancy Cambridge Analytica to help elect US President Donald Trump — a claim denied by the company.

Another tech veteran who has become critical of the sector, Twitter co-founder Ev Williams, will on Thursday deliver the closing address.

He left Twitter in 2011 and went on to co-found online publishing platform Mash, which is subscription based and unlike Twitter favours in-depth writing about issues.

The problem with the current internet model is that negative content gets more attention online, and thus gain more advertisers, according to Mitchell Baker, the president of the Mozilla Foundation, a non-profit organisation which promotes Internet innovation.

“Today everyone has a voice but the problem is… the loudest and often most violent voices get magnified because the most negative, scariest things attract our attention,” she told AFP in a recent interview.

The Web Summit was launched in Dublin in 2010 and moved to Lisbon six years later. The Portuguese government estimates the event will generate 300 million euros ($347 million) for Lisbon in hotel and other revenues. - PM News 

ITF : 25m Nigerians suffering from disabilities

The Director General, Industrial Training Fund, ITF, Sir Joseph Ari, has said that research has shown that one in every ten people in Nigeria suffers from one form of disability or the other.

The DG also stated that, even though authorities in Nigeria deferred on proportion of the physically challenged, the national assembly in 2013 estimated that over 20 million Nigerians are living with one form of disability or the other.

He explained that the center for disability and development innovations in 2016, approximated the number of disabled people in the country to be as high as 25 million.

Making the assertions on Monday in an address at the closing ceremony of Skills Training and Empowerment Programme for the 20 Kaduna physically challenged, Step-C, in Kaduna state, he said no fewer than 120 physically challenged persons have benefited from the skills training and empowerment programme of the Industrial Training Fund, ITF, across the country.

The DG, who was represented by the Deputy Director, ITF, Martins Shepga, said nine out of every ten persons with disability in the country live below the poverty line.

He said the objective of the programme was to provide technical and vocational skills training to disabled Nigerians in different trades and crafts.

Ari also stated that the need for the programme was part of the 2018 implementable programmes to equip many Nigerians with skills for employability and entrepreneurship in line with the policy direction of President Muhammad Buhari.

He explained, “In most societies including Nigeria, any major disability renders an individual more vulnerable to poverty in view of several factors, some of which are cultural while others stem from the absence of policies that would have ensured that they thrive as any normal person.

“We believed that equipping the physically challenged people with skills will strengthen them socially and economically.”

According to him, the training commenced in August this year with 120 participants drawn from Bayelsa, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Osun, Plateau and Taraba.

The participants were trained in foot-wear making, phone repairs, lady’s wig cap making and manual clothes design and embroidery.

Nicodemus Hananiyas who is one of the twenty beneficiaries in Kaduna state promised to contribute his quota to the economic development of the country.

While encouraging the beneficiaries to make use of the opportunity, the District Head of Doka, Bala Tijjani said they must develop the habit of given back to the society.

ITF also presented 10 small generators for the handset repairers and startup packs to all the beneficiaries to enable them start the business immediately.

The Kaduna Area manager, Yayaha Manu, advised the beneficiary not to sell their starter pack, saying doing so will deprive them of becoming an employer of Labour which is the main aim of government for introducing the training program. - Daily Post

N7.7bn fraud: Court gives Orji Kalu 7-day ultimatum to return to Nigeria

A federal high court in Lagos has ordered Orji Kalu, former governor of Abia state, to return to Nigeria in seven days to face trial for the N7.7 billion fraud he allegedly committed as governor.

Kalu, who is standing trial, was absent in court on Monday.

On Friday, Kunle Oyewunmi, his spokesman, had said the former governor flew to Germany last Monday for a major surgery.

Oyewunmi said since the ex-governor was treating “an undisclosed and life-threatening ailment”, he would stay in Germany for four months to recuperate.

In his ruling on Monday, Mohammed Idris, judge of the court, said Kalu’s lawyer should have obtained a medical report on his health condition which could have guided the proceedings of the court.

He said though the matter was adjourned indefinitely on September 27, the prosecution served Kalu a notice of the hearing on November 2. But the trial of the former governor was stalled on Monday due to his absence in court.

Rotimi Jacobs, counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), said he was not aware when Kalu got permission from the court to travel, hence it should be admitted that he jumped bail in order to frustrate the corruption trial.

Awa Kalu, lawyer of the former governor, said Kalu has been advised to stay abroad to recuperate from the major surgery he had.

Ruling on the case, Idris said he would adjourn the case for the last time in the interest of justice.

“I have always stated that every citizen of this country is entitled to and has the right to seek medical treatment abroad,” the judge held.

“This right is guaranteed by the constitution, the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is an inalienable right.

“However, this right has exceptions; therefore, in exercising this right due regard must be had for the law and due process.

“Apart from the mail confirming the treatment arrangement of the first defendant, the defence counsel should have obtained a medical report on the condition of the first defendant post-surgery. This would have properly guided the court in the proceedings of today.

“However, in the light of the entirety of this case and in the interest of justice, I am prepared to grant to the first defendant a final adjournment in respect of this matter.

“In the light of the provisions of the ACJA, I shall not adjourn for more than seven days from today. It is, therefore, hereby directed that the first defendant shall return to the country within seven days from today’s date for the hearing of this matter.”

The trial was adjourned till November 12. - TheCable

Gunmen abduct former NBA Branch Chairman in Edo, kill wife

Gunmen terrorising motorists on the busy Benin-Auchi Road again struck on Sunday evening and abducted the former chairman of the Auchi branch of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Mr. A.O. Itemuagbo, at Ehor, Uhunmwode Local Government Area of Edo State.

It was gathered that the gun-wielding hoodlums also shot and killed wife of the lawyer as he was being whisked away to an unknown destination where he was presently being held.

According to a source, the victim and his family, were members of Jehovah’s Witnesses and were returning home from there annual Regional Convention held in Benin, before they were attacked.

The source who added that the victim’s wife was left in the pool of her blood, with her small baby beside her, however could not confirm if she eventually died from the gunshot injuries.

The Chairman of the Benin branch of the NBA, Mr. Collins Ogiegbaen, confirmed the abduction of Itemuagbor.

Ogiegbaen, who spoke on his mobile phone, said that it was unfortunate that the former Auchi NBA Chairman was kidnapped by the bandits and his wife brutally murdered by the blood-thirsty abductors.

He said: “Yes, Itemuagbor was kidnapped at Ehor and his wife killed. It is unfortunate. I hope the police will succeed in releasing Itemuagbor unhurt and arrest the kidnappers. They should be brought to justice.”

Several attempts to reach the Edo State police spokesman, Mr. Chidi Nwanbuzor, proved abortive as he did not answer several calls on his mobile phone.

Also, the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Johnson Kokumo could also not be reached as he too neither answer calls nor respond to a text message. - PM News

Teaching hospital surgeon collapses, dies after conducting 4 operations

The University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), has been thrown into mourning, following the death of one of the senior surgeons, and Registrar, Dr. Okeoghene Edigba.

A preliminary medical examination indicated that Edigba, a Senior Registrar in the Department of Surgery of the Hospital, was alleged to have died as a result of exhaustion.

He was said to have collapsed in the call room after performing four surgical operations back-to-back.

It was said that every attempt at resuscitating him proved abortive.

Dr. Etinosa Imagbenikaro, who works at UBTH, announced the tragedy on his Tweeter page.

He said, Dr. Edigba collapsed and died after performing four surgeries back to back.

“Dr. Okeoghene Edigba, a senior registrar in the Department of Surgery, University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), has died,” he said.

According to Imagbenikaro, the President of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), UBTH Chapter, Edigba collapsed and died after performing four surgeries back to back.

Imagbenikaro wrote: “We lost Dr. Okeoghene Edigba a senior registrar in the department of surgery. He died while on call duty, after performing 4 surgeries back to back. He collapsed in the call room and every attempt at resuscitation proved abortive”.

Spokesman of UBTH, Mr. Joshua Uwaila, confirmed the incident.

Uwaila declined giving further details in connection with the tragedy, but said the doctor passed on last week Thursday.

Edigba’s death has left Facebook buzzing. - PM News

Tenant imprisoned for allegedly hypnotising landlady over unpaid rent in Lagos

A tenant, Muritala Bankole, has been remanded in prison for allegedly charming his landlady in order to skip payment of house rents which was owed for some years, and to also hijack the ownership of the house.

The landlady, Olapade Afusat, whose house is situated at Magaji Street, Abaranje Ikotun, where the incident happened, had reported at the Ikotun Division that Bankole, in an attempt to escape without payment, sprinkled a black substance suspected to be a charm at the compound premises to get Afusat hypnotised.

The complainant also disclosed that the tenant was caught with a mixture of what appeared like salt and water alongside other items, chanting the name of the former as he moved around the house at midnight hours.

Afusat said that the substance prevented her from further making demand of her rent, with sources disclosing to her that Bankole was on the brink of taking over the house from her.

While being interrogated for the reason of his action by the police, Bankole purportedly couldn’t give satisfactory response, as the landlady was said to have insisted that it was a ploy to skip rent payment and take over her house which she inherited from her parents.

The police consequently charged Bankole before an Ejigbo Magistrate’s court for conduct likely to cause breach of public peace.

He pleaded not guilty.

The prosecutor, Supol Kenneth Asibor, did not oppose his bail application, but asked the court for a short adjournment for trial.

Thus, the presiding magistrate, Teslimi Shomade, granted Bankole bail in the sum of N50,000 with two sureties in like sum.

He was remanded in prison custody pending when he is able to perfect the bail condition.

The matter was adjourned till 21st November, 2018. - Daily Post

Three arrested with fresh human parts in Nasarawa

The Nasarawa State Police Command has arrested three men for allegedly being in possession of fresh human parts.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for the Command in the state, SP Kennedy Idirisu, made the disclosure to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lafia.

Idirisu said the suspects were arrested by the Nigerian Army on special duty on Friday and handed over to the police.

According to him, the suspects on Nov 1 exhumed a freshly buried corpse from a cemetery at Mararaban-Akunza, chopped off the arm and re-buried it.

He stated that residents of the area got information on the incident and were about lynching the suspects when the soldiers intervened, rescued them and handed them over to the police.

Idirisu said that one of the suspects sustained serious injury from the beating by the mob and was hospitalised at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia.

He added that investigation had begun to ascertain the motive of the suspects. - Daily Post

Depletion: UN gives update on condition of ozone layer

There is an ongoing healing of the ozone layer, findings of a new UN-backed report released on Monday, have shown.

The study, ‘Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion: 2018’, is the latest in a series of reports, released every four years, which monitor the recovery of ozone in the stratosphere.

Ozone is a layer that protects life on Earth from harmful layers of ultraviolet rays from the sun.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, the study shows that the concentration of ozone-depleting substances continues to decrease, leading to an improvement in the layer since the previous assessment carried out in 2014.

The findings are being hailed as a demonstration of what global agreements can achieve, and an inspiration for more ambitious climate action to halt a catastrophic rise in world temperatures.

Ozone in parts of the stratosphere has recovered at a rate of one to three per cent since 2000 and, at projected rates, Northern Hemisphere and mid-latitude ozone is scheduled to heal completely by the 2030s, followed by the Southern Hemisphere in the 2050s and polar regions by 2060.

This is due to internationally agreed actions carried out under the historic Montreal Protocol, which came into being over 30 years ago.

The Protocol was in response to the revelation that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other ozone-depleting substances – used in aerosols, cooling and refrigeration systems, and many other items – were tearing a hole in the ozone layer and allowing dangerous ultraviolet radiation to flood through.

The Protocol is set to be strengthened in 2019 with the ratification of the Kigali Amendment which calls for the future use of powerful climate-warming gases in refrigerators, air conditioners and related products to be slashed.

Erik Solheim, Head of UN Environment Programme said: “The Montreal Protocol is one of the most successful multilateral agreements in history for a reason.

“The careful mix of authoritative science and collaborative action that has defined the Protocol for more than 30 years and was set to heal our ozone layer is precisely why the Kigali Amendment holds such promise for climate action in future.”

The findings provide a ray of hope, less than a month after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released a watershed report.

The report described the devastating effects of a 2°C temperature rise compared to pre-industrial levels, which UN Secretary-General António Guterres described as an “ear-splitting wake-up call”.

The writers of the report found that, if the Kigali Amendment was fully implemented, the world could avoid up to 0.4 per cent of global warming this century, meaning that it will play a major role in keeping the global temperature rise below 2°C. - Daily Post

55-year-old man remanded in prison over alleged culpable homicide

A Daura Road Chief Magistrates’ Court in Kaduna on Monday ordered that a 55-year-old man, Zamani Inuwa, should be remanded in prison over alleged culpable homicide.

The Magistrate, Abdulkadir Musa, who ordered the remand of Inuwa, did not take his plea, but ordered that the case file be taken to the Director of Public Prosecutions for legal advice.

The Magistrate, however, adjourned the case until Nov. 28.
Inuwa, a resident of Akiru Village in Kachia Local Government area in Kaduna, is facing a count charge of culpable homicide.

Earlier, the Prosecutor, Insp. Akinga Akila, had told the court that one Rage Kogi, a Village Head in Kachia Local Government in Kaduna State, reported the matter at Kachia Police Station on Oct. 10.

According to Akila, the accused used a stick and beat his mother, one Dallas Zamani, to death after an argument on the same date at about 10.00 am.

The prosecutor said that the offence contravened the provisions of Section 190 of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law, 2017. - PM News

US ambassador: Youth are Nigeria’s most valuable resource — not oil

William Symington, US ambassador to Nigeria, says youth are the nation’s most valuable resource, not crude oil.

The US ambassador made the remark on Sunday, while speaking to students of Adekunle Anglican Primary School, Makoko, a suburb in Lagos.

“If you have oil and you don’t have people, you have nothing. The most important resources of Nigeria are her youths. The reason the world cares about Nigeria is because of the youths of the country,” he said.

Encouraging the students to keep learning, Symington said they have the qualities to aspire for greatness and contribute to the development of the country.

“You are not just learning for yourself; you are learning for all of us. One of you will discover a cure for a disease. Another person will find a way to encourage farmers and herders to live in peace,” he said.

“One of you will take a picture and that picture would be worth more than a million words. Some of you will become great authors and you will take people to places where they have never been.”

During a visit to Nigeria in March, Bill Gates, co-founder Bill and Melinda Foundation, had said government needs to invest in its greatest resource– its human capital– to achieve “sustained prosperity.”

Nigeria was ranked 152 out of 157 countries in the World Bank’s first-ever Human Capital Index released in October. - TheCable

2019: APC reveals why Atiku, Peter Obi, Saraki held meeting in Dubai

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has claimed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, his running mate, Peter Obi, Senate President, Bukola Saraki and the party’s National Chairman, Uche Secondus, travelled to Dubai for “sinister purposes”.

This was contained in a statement signed by the party’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena, on Sunday.

Nabena dismissed reports that the four men went to Dubai to “plot strategies to oust President Muhammadu Buhari” in next year’s election and urged security agents to be on the alert.

“The purpose of the said meeting is both comical and ridiculous as they have held several meetings for the same purpose in Nigeria.

“Clearly, the meetings held in Nigeria did not yield their desired results, hence, a follow up meeting in Dubai.

“But we know the way of these set of politicians and the political party they represent.

“There is more to the meeting that meets the eye. Nigeria has enough meeting/conference rooms, many of which meet international standards. It is therefore clear that the Dubai meeting is for other sinister political purposes ahead of the 2019 elections.

“Our intelligence, anti-graft and security agencies must be awake to its responsibility of investigating the Dubai meeting.

“Cash and carry politicians must be prevented from moving illicit cash around to induce voters and sponsor election violence and rigging.

“Again, relevant agencies must check suspicious movement of cash both locally and internationally by politically exposed persons under the guise of a ‘Dubai meeting’ or any clandestine meeting.

“We are mindful of how millions of dollars were confiscated in an aircraft belonging in a Nigerian PDP sympathizer in South Africa in the leadup to the 2015 elections.

“The case of N250 million cache found in the Peter Obi’s private office in Lagos remains unresolved.

“Another round of election is here and it is not unlikely that they are playing a repeat performance, under the guise of holding a meeting in Dubai.

“Our security agencies should be on the watch for a stitch in time saves nine,” the statement read. - Daily Post

Klopp Confirms Liverpool Will Leave Xherdan Shaqiri at Home for Red Star Trip

Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that Liverpool will leave Xherdan Shaqiri at home for their trip to Belgrade to face Red Star this week in order to prevent a political sideshow forming around the match. 

Switzerland international Shaqiri was born in Kosovo and has made no secret of his pride in his heritage, sporting the Kosovar flag on his boots while playing for the Swiss national team – including in a tense fixture against Serbia in the group stage of the summer's World Cup, in which he made the symbol of the Albanian eagle with his hands after scoring a late winner, provoking an angry reaction from some Serbian fans and leading to a fine from FIFA. 

Serbia, where Tuesday evening's Champions League game will be played, still views Kosovo as part of its territory despite a declaration of independence a decade ago, following a bloody war of independence against largely Serbian Yugoslav forces in the late 1990s. 

As such, Shaqiri's presence – as a relatively outspoken Kosovar with Albanian roots – is likely to generate a hostile reaction from the home crowd, and Klopp confirmed on the ​club's website on Monday morning: “We have heard and read the speculation and talk about what kind of reception Shaq would receive and although we have no idea what would happen, we want to go there and be focused 100 per cent on football and not have to think about anything else, that’s all.

“We are Liverpool FC, a big club, a football team but we don’t have any message further than that. We have no political message, absolutely not. We want the focus to be on a great game of football, free from anything else."

For his own part, Shaqiri insisted last month that he would have no problem going to Belgrade, saying: "I had this already at the World Cup so I know I can handle this no problem. I just saw a few articles where one player said something. I don't really care what people are saying."

He added: "I just go there to play a football game. It is not about politics, it is about football. I worry about nothing and go to play." - 90MIN