Index to Nigerian Newspapers

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that 30 political parties will participate in the Ondo State governorship election on November 26, 2016. The parties include the Alliance for Democracy, Social Democratic Party, Peoples Democratic Party, Peoples Redemption Party, All Progressives Congress and Accord Party, Labour Party, Citizen Popular Party, Peoples Party of Nigeria, Allied Congress of Nigeria, National Conscience Party, and Unity Party of Nigeria. The commission is preparing to ensure a free and fair election and will use technology to streamline the process. The commission has initiated voter education, mobilisation, and public enlightenment campaigns to prevent voter apathy and encourage citizens to avoid violence.

Supporters of Chief Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) and Dr. Olusegun Abraham clashed during a peaceful protest in Akure, Nigeria. Abraham's supporters were protesting against Akeredolu's candidacy for the November 2016 governorship election. The protesters were attacked by APC youths carrying Akeredolu's posters and weapons. The clash resulted in the destruction of vehicles and deserted Oyemekun Road, where the secretariat was located. No life was lost, but the situation was calmed by additional policemen. Abraham, a preferred candidate of the party's National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, criticized the incident as uncivilized and urged the APC leadership to let the right candidate be chosen. He emphasized that Akeredolu could not win the upcoming election for the state without his mandate restored. Akeredolu's Publicity Secretary, Abayomi Adesanya, denied that the protesters were members of the APC in the state.

Organised Labour has issued a two-week deadline to governors to commence negotiations on the N35,000 wage award for workers in their states in line with the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Federal Government, the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress.

The state chapters of the NLC and TUC, which handed down the ultimatum on Tuesday, said they had written to the governors to fast-track the necessary protocols and implement the award meant to assuage the subsidy removal pains. The unions pointed out that the deadline for payment of the wage award would expire in the next two weeks, and they asked the governors to begin the implementation process.

This came as President Bola Tinubu Tuesday inaugurated the N1tn cash transfer programme to 15 million households to cushion the economic shocks of the fuel subsidy.

Each household will receive N25,000 for three months. With 15 million households getting  N25,000 each for three months, about  N1.13tn will be spent on the programme. At the event, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, said about 61 million Nigerians would benefit from the cash transfer.

The national leadership of the NLC and TUC had on October 1 reached an agreement with the FG to pay N35,000 to all federal workers beginning from September, pending when a new national minimum wage is expected to have been signed into law.

The resolution provided that the wage award would be paid to the federal workers for six months while states were encouraged to extend the same benefit to their workers.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, has said his Finance counterpart, Zainab Ahmed, will find means to pay the earned allowances to members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) due to the Federal Government's lack of money. ASUU had announced a four-week strike following the failure of the government to honour some of its long-standing demands. Ngige said the implementation of most of the union's demands were in progress. The meeting mandated a joint committee of ASUU, the National Universities Commission and the National Information Technology Development Agency to conduct an integrity test on the platform in conjunction with neutral experts. They are expected to conclude the test by March 8 and work on it within six weeks. If the Federal Government is in arrears on any tranche, the finance minister will look for money to pay, even though the Federal Government does not have money.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, has said his Finance counterpart, Zainab Ahmed, will find means to pay the earned allowances to members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) due to the Federal Government's lack of money. ASUU had announced a four-week strike following the failure of the government to honour some of its long-standing demands. Ngige said the implementation of most of the union's demands were in progress. The meeting mandated a joint committee of ASUU, the National Universities Commission and the National Information Technology Development Agency to conduct an integrity test on the platform in conjunction with neutral experts. They are expected to conclude the test by March 8 and work on it within six weeks. If the Federal Government is in arrears on any tranche, the finance minister will look for money to pay, even though the Federal Government does not have money.

The Okitipupa Local Government Area in Ondo State has adopted a newborn baby from a mentally challenged woman found on the street. The woman, who claimed to have twins, was found with one of the babies taken away. The baby and mother were taken to the State Specialist Hospital in Okitipupa. The baby and mother are currently in the custody of the state's social workers. The Director of Child Development in the Ondo State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Oluwaniyi Ogunleye, commended the efforts of security agents, social and local government workers who took care of the mother and newborn.