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BREAKING: Tinubu mum on Nnamdi Kanu, fail to proclaim new minimum wage
For Nigerians, especially from the South East who had believed that President Bola Tinubu, would use the occasion of June 12 Democracy Day to announce freedom for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, their expectations, came to naught, as nothing was said about the matter in the 56-paragraph national broadcast the President made to Nigerians, on Wednesday.
Also likely to be disappointed are workers in Nigeria, who had embarked on a stifling two-day national strike, last week to press home their demand for a new minimum wage, away from the current N30,000 that was introduced five years ago, as Tinubu also skirted on the subject, without announcing a figure, even with the threat of a fresh strike still hanging.
The Democracy Day, was instituted in 2018 by the Federal Government in honour of Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, winner of the popular June 12, 1993 presidential election, who died in office on July 7, 1998, in controversial circumstances, a month after the equally controversial death of Sani Abacha, the military despot, who as Nigeria’s Head of State, ordered his detention, leading to his spending four years in a solitary confinement in Abuja, for insisting on his mandate, despite local and international outcries and pleas for his release, in a similar manner Kanu’s case is going.
Ohanaeze Ndigbo, alongside other Igbo leaders of thought have remained resolute in their attempt to get Kanu released through a government rapprochement rather than the dreary legal process, a move which failed with Muhammadu Buhari, who rebuffed the option, but rekindled with Tinubu, in the hope that he would be more amenable since he was not directly involved in the schism that led to the current situation.
The belief in the South East, is that criminals and other fifth columnists have either infiltrated the IPOB, or completely seized the momentum from the organisation to commit atrocious crimes and the release of their leader, would douse the tension and mitigate the parlous situation, especially by restoring a clear leadership identity to the self-determination body.
Even with claims of back-channel moves, including from the Igbo leaders in government, including governors, Tinubu’s cabinet and the National Assembly, as confirmed by Benjamin Okezie Kalu, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, nothing seems to have come out of the move, at least as yet, as Tinubu was clearly silent on the matter.
The lawmaker, the highest-ranking Igbo in Nigerian government hierarchy, who hails from Abia State, was quoted as saying during an appearance on FLO FM, Umuahia: “The last time I was with Mr President, I discussed with him the need for the elders of Igbo land to come, sit, and engage with him. I know that one of the topics that will come up there is our brother and the South East Development Commission.
“I will not truncate legal processes, but some of us are not afraid to identify with him and to ask for him to be released. Any other thing can follow up after that. So, that is what is going on at the moment, and those who are close to him will assure you that we are working closely on this mandate. Is it achievable? The answer is yes.
“And I am happy with the statement that he (Kanu) made the last time he was in court. He said all those who are causing violence are not IPOB people and that anybody who is using his name to be causing violence is a hater of Ndi Igbo. Look, Igbos are not known for violence. We are known for trade and being creative. Call it Nollywood, we are the engine room that started the creative industry. We are not thieves, not known for violence. We put our energy towards creating wealth. We are not life killers, and anybody coming now to introduce what is strange to us. It’s either the person is not an Igbo man, or we should question where he is coming from.”
But while Tinubu was totally silent on Kanu, he offered explanation on the minimum wage issue, saying the government was readying all the papers to send its proposal to the National Assembly to promulgate a new package, but failed to name a figure, after offering N62,000 last week, which organised labour led by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC).
“In this spirit, we have negotiated in good faith and with open arms with organised labour on a new national minimum wage. We shall soon send an executive bill to the National Assembly to enshrine what has been agreed upon as part of our law for the next five years or less,” Tinubu, told an expectant nation Wednesday.
For those eager to speculate around the sudden death of Mary Habila, a female student who reportedly died inside one of the rooms in the country home of Dave Umahi, located in Uburu, Ebonyi State, there is a message from the Minister of Works – prepare to meet me in court.
The circumstances surrounding the mysterious death of the lady said to be a physiotherapist, has been a subject of intense speculation, since the news was broken on Saturday by SaharaReporters, a foremost Nigerian online newspaper.
Umahi, who had earlier stated how he was shocked by the incident, explained that the deceased was one of the two employees of the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu, who had been on secondment to the Federal Ministry of Works as physiotherapists for the past three years until, before her unfortunate passing.
On Saturday, the Minister, had warned those he referred as “tale bearers” to apply caution, to enable the police conduct unfettered investigation into the matter, said to have occurred in his palatial home on June 27.
Conveying the position of his boss, Nwaze, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity had said in a statement: “The attention of the Media Office of the Honourable Minister of Works, Senator Engr. David Nweze Umahi, has been drawn to a publication by a publication concerning the unfortunate passing of Miss Mary Habila in Uburu, Ebonyi State, alleging that the circumstances surrounding her death were shrouded in secrecy.
“The Honourable Minister received the news with profound shock and sadness and has since extended his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. For the avoidance of doubt, immediately the unfortunate incident occurred, appropriate emergency steps were taken. Medical personnel, including the Chief Medical Director of the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu, were contacted without delay, while the Nigeria Police was promptly notified in accordance with the law.
“Following confirmation of Miss Habila’s passing, the Honourable Minister personally received her parents, conveyed his sincere condolences, and advised that an autopsy be conducted to scientifically establish the exact cause of death. At the time, however, the family declined the recommendation.
“It is important to clarify that Miss Mary Habila and Miss Anita Baski are employees of the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu, who had been on secondment to the Federal Ministry of Works as physiotherapists for the past three years until the unfortunate passing of Miss Habila.
“Following the recent developments and in the interest of ensuring that the truth is established beyond doubt, the Honourable Minister has again reiterated his position that an autopsy must be conducted. He remains convinced that this is the most credible and responsible path to resolving all questions surrounding the unfortunate incident.
“We therefore urge the public to exercise restraint, refrain from speculation or premature conclusions, and allow the relevant authorities to carry out their responsibilities without interference. At this difficult time, our thoughts and prayers remain with the family of the deceased, and we pray that God grants them the strength to bear this irreparable loss.”
Upping the ante, Umahi, told reporters on Sunday during the inspection of work along the Ebonyi section of the Calabar–Ebonyi–Benue–Nasarawa–Abuja Super Highway, saying his lawyers had been fully briefed to pursue legal action against those responsible for circulating alleged defamatory reports against him.
The Minister, who was quoted as condemning what he described as defamatory activities by “evil people who claim to be freedom fighters”, insisting such conduct should never be tolerated, explained that there was nothing hidden about the incident.
Explaining that the family of the deceased was in the full picture of the incident, being the ones who forced open the doors to the room after becoming concerned and immediately sought medical assistance, he said the police was fully in the matter also.
Wondering what led to people insinuating coverup on a matter that was already with the police, he was quoted as saying: “The family broke the girl’s door, called doctors from DUFUTH, who took her to hospital and did everything to revive her, but failed. The family reported the matter to the police, so where is the secrecy?”
For the first time in six years, Nigeria has recorded a crude oil and condensate production increase of an average of 1,735,398 barrels per day in June 2026, after posting consecutive four-month growth.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), which made the announcement on Sunday, also indicated that the also met its production quota set by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Against the backdrop of scenarios, where oil theft and other shortcomings in the industry, which seemed peculiar had previously hampered crude production, which at a point dipped to as low as 700,000bpd, the agency through Eniola Akinkuotu, its spokesman, stated that in June, crude oil production hit 1.56mbpd while 0.18mbpd of condensates was produced, meaning the figure exceeded the OPEC quota of 1.5 mbpd by four per cent.
In strict crude oil terms (excluding condensates), the 1.56 million daily average production Nigeria witnessed in June is the highest that Africa’s biggest oil producer has recorded since April 2020, thus representing a 74-month high, the statement added.
Stressing the feat, the agency said in June, the peak combined crude oil and condensate production was 1.89mbpd, reflecting Nigeria’s potential to reach two million barrels per day in the near term, but however, the lowest production was 1.57mbpd for the period in review.
The NUPRC, while also stating that the improved performance was primarily driven by stable production operations across most producing assets, said the absence of any major pipeline outages during the period under review, resulting in enhanced operational stability supported improved production uptime and crude evacuation efficiency.
If a marching order by President Bola Tinubu, is achieved, every Nigerian would be captured in in the national identity database before the end of 2026, going by the signals coming from the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
Abisoye Coker-Odusote, Director General and Chief Executive Officer, who gave the out the information, said the President, the directive formed part of the Federal Government’s efforts to establish a comprehensive national identity system capable of supporting effective governance, planning, and service delivery.
A guest on Sunday Politics, a public affairs programme on Channels Television, the NIMC boss, told her host: “The President has given us till the end of this year to make sure that we capture every single Nigerian.
“What we have done is we have partnered through the World Bank ID4D project with front-end partners. They are part of the digital identity ecosystem. These are private citizens that we’ve enabled and given jobs to enrol citizens on our behalf.”
Stressing that the mandate of the agency, she explained that the National Identification Number (NIN) remained a unique identifier, ensuring that every individual is registered only once, stating that presently, Nigeria’s actual population remains uncertain, with estimates ranging from 200 million to 250 million, making a comprehensive identity database essential for national planning.
She said: “That’s why it’s called a unique identifier, so that you’re only enrolled once. It is estimated that we’re 200 million. When we’re done enrolling, we will then know the actual numbers that we have. Some estimates say 230 million, while a few people say 250 million.
“Your identity is basically the foundation for effective governance and service delivery. How can you plan if you don’t know the total number of persons that you have? We have been mandated by Mr President to go down to the community levels to enrol every single Nigerian.”
Dismissing the possibility of double registration under different guises, she said the NIMC boss said the commission’s biometric verification system prevents such occurrences, adding that while the previous system could accept duplicate enrolments before detecting them later, the current process automatically identified and invalidated multiple registrations.
“The legacy system had no way of verifying at the front end whether you had already been captured. Once the record comes into the system, it flags it as a duplicate or that the person already exists in the database.
“You would only have one identity generated for you. The other record goes into a deduplication bucket where it is invalidated. One of the things that this Act has done is to cement our role in capturing biometrics. Private and public sector organisations will no longer capture biometrics independently. They will validate identities through API integration with NIMC.
“The telcos are already doing that with us. If you need a SIM card, they capture your facial biometrics, which are matched against our database in real time to confirm that you are who you claim to be. We’re using biometric validation to tighten security around identity confirmation.”
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