The 5,937 soldiers that recently passed out from the Nigerian Army Depot in Zaria, Kaduna State, will be deployed to fight banditry, cattle rustling and related crimes, Chief of Army of Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, has said.

Lagbaja disclosed this during the passing-out parade for the 86 regular recruit intake of the Depot Nigeria Army, in Zaria, yesterday.

The COAS, who was the Special Guest of Honour and Reviewing Officer, for the passing out parade, added that the new men would form part of the solution to numerous security challenges bedevilling the country.

“The fresh products passing out today will form part of the solution to the challenge of insurgency in the North-east, banditry and cattle rustling in the North-west.

“They will fight the farmers/herders’ clashes in the North-central, secessionist agitation and cultism in the South-east, militancy, and vandalism of critical national assets and infrastructure in the South-south and south-west.”

The COAS noted that the training was a continuous process in the military, adding that the Nigerian Army has put in place post-depot training packages to help the soldiers master the array of weapons and equipment.

This, according to him, will enable the soldiers to become more efficient in the art of war.

He said that the army was improving on the existing welfare packages to enable the soldiers to cater for their medical, recreational, and educational needs to ease career fulfillment.

While congratulating the 5,937 recruits, the COAS said that the life of a soldier was a life of sacrifice to his country, allegiance to defend, and, if need be, sacrifice his life for the people.

“Sacrifice to go wherever you are ordered to, by land, sea or air; sacrifice to relegate personal comfort and assume a duty to the country as a primary concern,’’ he said.

He said that by becoming a soldier, one had accepted the highest call to duty any Nigerian could take up.

He added that as soldiers, they had joined the unique league of exceptional Nigerians who had elected to abide by the requirements of exceptional discipline, loyalty, integrity, and dedication to duty.

Lagbaja, therefore, charged them not to disappoint the Nigerian Army and the country’s expectations of them.

He commended and congratulated the commandant and instructors of Depot NA for the successful training and graduation of the recruits.

The Army boss assured the commandant of the Army headquarters’ support towards realising the training objectives of the institution.

The Ministry of Solid Minerals Development on Saturday vowed to revoke the titles of owners of licensed land that are being used for illegal mining operations.

The government said this in response to development at a mining site located in Shirley Niger State which had swallowed over 50 miners during the collapse.

Weeks after the Shiroro incident was reported, another site Bazakwoi, Adunu Community, in the Paikoro Local Government Area in Niger state was reported to have collapsed on Thursday, June 13, 2024, resulting in the death of three men.

Responding to the frequent occurrences in the state, the Minister of Solid Minerals Dele Alake in a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Media, Segun Tomori, said preliminary investigations showed that the collapsed mine was in the area under Exploration Licence 43113 of Jurassic Mines Limited in Adunu Village, Paikoro Local Government Area, Niger State.

He said, “At the time of the visit, work had stopped at the site, and only onlookers were seen. The coordinates of the site were taken, and officials returned to Minna at about 8.30 pm.

“The owners of the company were contacted by phone, but they claimed ignorance of happenings on the site. They were then summoned to the office in the state capital.

“Owners of licenced units of land mined by illegal miners will lose their titles”.

The statement noted that the men killed in the accident had since been buried.

The minister further warned land title owners with mining licenses to desist from illegal operations, as those caught or found guilty would face the law.

The Nigeria Labour Congress said the government must accede to its demands on minimum wage based on practical realities in the country.

The NLC also faulted a statement by President Bola Tinubu during a meeting with some governors and members of the National Assembly on the occasion of the nation’s 25th Democracy Day anniversary.

Tinubu had said that the government would only be able to pay its workers what the country can afford.

“Senate president, deputy senate president, you will get a notice from me if I have changed my mind on minimum wage. We are going to do it — what Nigeria can afford, what you can afford, what I can afford. They ask you to cut your coat according to your size if you have size at all,” Tinubu had said.

But in his reaction, the spokesperson of the NLC, Benson Upah, in an interview with our correspondent, described the president’s statement as a contradiction of his promise to pay a living wage.

“This will be in breach of his promise to pay a living wage which is superior to a minimum wage. Moreover, there is unanimity of opinion that government accede to the demand of Labour based on practical realities,” he stated.

Disagreements between the government, Labour, and the Organised Private Sector have continued to brew over the new minimum wage.

During his nationwide broadcast to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Nigeria’s democracy on Wednesday, June 12, Tinubu announced that a consensus had been reached on the long-debated new minimum wage between the Federal Government and the Organised Labour.

In the national broadcast, the President revealed that an executive bill would soon be sent to the National Assembly to formalise the new minimum wage agreement.

He stated, “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.”

However, in a swift reaction, the Organised Labour stated that it had not reached any agreement with the Federal Government Tripartite Committee on the new minimum wage as claimed by the President.

In a statement on Wednesday, the acting President of Nigeria Labour Congress, Adewale Adeyanju, said there was no agreement reached by the Tripartite Committee on the National Minimum Wage when negotiations ended on Friday, June 7, 2024.

Adeyanju stated that at the last meetings, the demand remained N250,000 from the Organised Labour and that anything to the contrary won’t be accepted. He said, “Our demand remains N250,000 only, and we have not been given any compelling reasons to change this position which we consider a great concession by Nigerian workers during the tripartite negotiation process.

“We are, therefore, surprised at the submission of Mr President over a supposed agreement. We believe that he may have been misled into believing that there was an agreement with the NLC and TUC. There was none and we must let the President, Nigerians, and other national stakeholders understand this immediately to avoid a mix-up in the ongoing conversation around the national minimum wage.”

However, the state governors have vehemently opposed the offers and demands so far made by the Federal Government, OPS, and Organised Labour on the new minimum wage.

Speaking under their umbrella forum, the governors had maintained that compelling them to pay the minimum wage proposed by both the Federal Government and Labour would have adverse consequences on their delivery of critical infrastructural projects for their states.

Rwanda head coach, Thorsten Frannk Splitter, says he will be relying on Gernot Rohr for essential information to claim the scalp of the Super Eagles in their 2026 World Cup CAF Qualifying Group C match day 5 fixture on March 17, 2025, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

After four rounds of matches, Rwanda are surprisingly topping the group with seven points, the same as South Africa in second place due to an inferior goal difference, and the East Africans can now fancy their chances at maiden World Cup qualification by adding Nigeria to their conquest list.

Rohr led Benin to a historic 2-1 win over Nigeria at Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, on June 10, and Splitter feels the Franco-German, who coached Nigeria for almost six years before being appointed by Benin, is the right man to advise him on how to beat Nigeria.

“I am very sure we (me and Gernot Rohr) will have a phone call before; it may be two or three, and if he can tell me something, I will be stupid not to take it. For that, we will try to be in contact; if possible, we can help each other; for sure, we will do it,” the Belgian tactician told Brila FM on Saturday.

Rohr was carried shoulder-high by Cheetahs players after Jodel Dossou scored on 37 minutes to cancel out Raphael Onyedika’s 27th-minute opener for Nigeria, and Steve Mounié scored the decider three minutes into added time of the first half to give Benin their first victory against their illustrious neighbours in Ivory Coast.

Nigeria are stuck in fifth spot on the log with miserly three points in for matches, and the three-time African champions will look to revive qualification hopes when the series resumes early next year, which will see them host Zimbabwe on March 24 on the back of the Rwanda trip.

This will be under a new coach following the resignation of Finidi George on Saturday, June 15, shortly after the Nigeria Football Federation announced its decision to hire an expatriate technical adviser to boss him.

Nigeria's inflation rate increased to 33.95% in May, driven primarily by surging prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on Saturday. This marks a slight rise from April's inflation rate of 33.69%.

"Comparing month-over-month data, the headline inflation rate in May 2024 increased by 0.26 percentage points from April 2024," stated the NBS. "Year-over-year, the headline inflation rate was 11.54 percentage points higher than the 22.41% recorded in May 2023."

The report further highlighted that on a month-to-month basis, May's headline inflation rate was 2.14%, a slight decrease from April's 2.29%. This indicates that while prices are still rising, the pace of increase slowed compared to the previous month.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages were the top contributors to headline inflation, accounting for 17.59%. Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels followed with 5.68%, while clothing and footwear (2.60%), transport (2.21%), and furnishings, household equipment, and maintenance (1.71%) rounded out the top five contributors.

The NBS reported that urban inflation rose to 36.34% in May, up 12.61 percentage points from 23.74% in May 2023. Month-to-month, urban inflation was 2.35% in May, down 0.32 percentage points from April’s 2.67%.

Rural inflation was reported at 31.82% year-over-year in May, an increase of 10.63 percentage points from the 21.19% recorded in May 2023.

Food inflation specifically soared to 40.66% in May, up from 24.82% in the same month last year—a rise of 15.84 percentage points. The NBS attributed this increase to higher prices of staple foods such as semovita, oatflake, yam flour, garri, beans, Irish potatoes, yam, water yam, palm oil, vegetable oil, stockfish, mudfish, crayfish, beef head, live chicken, pork head, and bush meat.

On a month-to-month basis, food inflation was 2.28% in May, down from 2.50% in April.

The Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore Fulani Socio-cultural Association and the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, have disagreed on the bill on ranching, which just passed the second reading in the National Assembly.

The Senate, on Thursday, passed for a Second Reading ‘A Bill for an Act to Establish National Animal Husbandry and Ranches Commission for the Regulation, Management, Preservation, and Control of Ranches throughout Nigeria; and for Connected Purposes, 2024’.

The bill, sponsored by Senator Titus Zam, generated contentious debates among the lawmakers.

Zam argued that the bill when passed, would help resolve the farmer-herder crisis across the country. Some lawmakers also argued that the farmer-herder crisis was responsible for food scarcity across the nation.

Some northern senators, including the Deputy Senate President, argued that the bill would infringe on the rights of certain individuals, making it unconstitutional.

Responding to the survival of the bill, the Senate spokesperson said that no single senator or group of senators could unilaterally ensure that a bill was passed or not.

He said, “Every bill in the Senate is passed through a vote after it has been thoroughly considered and debated based on its merits and demerits.

“The ‘Bill for an Act to Establish the National Animal Husbandry and Ranches Commission for the Regulation, Management, Preservation, and Control of Ranches throughout Nigeria; and for Connected Purposes, 2024’ is no exception to this legislative process.

“The passage of a bill involves multiple stages and the participation of various individuals and bodies, ensuring a democratic and thorough evaluation. No single senator can unilaterally decide the success of a bill due to the structured and collaborative nature of this process.”

Adaramodu added, “This particular bill has already passed through the second reading and has been referred to the committees on agriculture, trade and investment, and judiciary and legal matters.

“These committees will examine its details thoroughly, potentially holding public hearings and inviting experts, stakeholders, and the public to provide input. All those interest groups will come and make their presentations. The committee will, thereafter, adopt all the contributions.”

The Senate spokesperson explained further that the committee could propose amendments to the bill, considering each clause and making necessary modifications.

He stated, “After its examination, the committee reports to the Senate with its findings and recommendations. The Senate will then consider the committee’s report. If there are proposed amendments, they will be debated, and members may accept, reject, or further amend them.

“During the third reading, the bill will be debated for the last time. This discussion is usually brief and focuses on the final content of the bill. A vote is then taken on the bill in its entirety. If it passes, it moves to concurrence, and is transmitted for the President’s assent, after which it becomes law.”

“As you can see, no aspect of this process is left in the hands of a few individuals. The passage of law involves the collaborative effort of all 109 senators,” Adaramodu noted.

‘Herders will resist bill’

Miyetti Allah said its members would resist the bill to abolish open grazing and promote ranching.

Its National Secretary-General, Saleh Alhassan, speaking to our correspondent, said the bill, if passed into law, may lead to rebellion from herders.

He said, “Laws are meant to promote love, peace, harmony and development. The law will not work. No one will respect such a law because you can’t come overnight and destroy our economy through a pronouncement.

“How many laws have they enacted, and how many are working in this country? They want to create a crisis. They want to push us, herders, into rebellion, and we are saying they will fail.”

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Meanwhile, the Northern Elders Forum has asked the Federal Government to initiate policies and programmes that will successfully transition open grazing into ranching in a way that will safeguard the interests of the herdsmen and address security challenges associated with their activities.

Speaking with Sunday PUNCH, NEF spokesman, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, said the forum wants the Federal Government to identify suitable lands across the country and create grazing reserves and cattle routes for pastoral activities.

He said, “NEF had declared an earlier position on the ongoing debate in the National Assembly over the proposed law to end open grazing in the country and establish ranching agencies, which has brought to light differing views among legislators.

“NEF recognises the importance of addressing the challenges posed by open grazing and the need for a more sustainable and modern approach to livestock management. However, the forum is aware of the concerns raised by some northern senators regarding the potential impact of the proposed law on the livelihoods of pastoralists in the region.”

Afenifere supports bill

The National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Jare Ajayi, said Afenifere strongly advocates modernising cattle rearing practices across the country, noting the obsolescence of open grazing.

He said, “Afenifere’s position is that in the modern-day, livestock do not graze in the open, roam on the streets, or go to people’s farms to destroy crops.

“Today, open grazing has become anachronistic and obsolete. Ranching is the vehicle whereby whoever wants to go into cattle rearing, just like a person who wants to rear fowls would build a poultry.

“The same thing should be done for those who want to rear cattle. There must be ranching, which will be maintained in a manner that will not be detrimental or create problems for other people. That’s how we feel.”

Super Eagles and Napoli forward Victor Osimhen has fired back at former Super Eagles manager, Finidi George, and individuals doubting his commitment to the Super Eagles.

Osimhen was ruled out of the Super Eagles games against South Africa and Benin Republic.

However, in a live Instagram video on Saturday, Osimhen reacted angrily to some comments attributed to Finidi, stating that he wanted to stay with the players in camp.

He said, “I knew things like these would happen and that’s why I have the videos and screenshots of when I called Finidi while I was with the doctor in Germany.

“I got injured in our (Napoli’s) last game against Lecce and I went to the MRI scan. And I called Finidi there for him to listen to the doctor too.

“I asked Finidi George to allow me stay with the players in the camp, but Finidi asked me not to bother that I should stay with my family.

“I’m not addressing anything, everybody knows I play my heart out whenever I’m playing for the club or national team. I’ll share the screenshot and videos of my conversation with Finidi for the sake of those believing what Finidi said.

“I’ve lost respect for that man because before I disrespect anybody, I always respect them.

“Now after two bad games, everybody is now blaming me.

“I know how many injuries I’ve played with for Nigeria and I played my heart out but after two bad games, everybody is attacking me.”

Ex-Premier League striker Kevin Campbell has died aged 54, his former clubs Arsenal and Everton announced on Saturday.

Campbell, who died after a short illness, holds the record for most Premier League goals, 83, by a player never to win an international cap.

“Everyone at Arsenal Football is devastated to hear of the death of our much-loved former player Kevin Campbell,” said Arsenal.

Campbell joined the Gunners as a schoolboy in 1985, making his first-team debut in 1988. He went on to play 228 times for Arsenal scoring 59 goals and winning a league title, an FA Cup, a European Cup Winners Cup and a League Cup.

“To actually play for the team I supported was a dream come true,” he said.

In 164 games for Everton he scored 51 goals, including nine in five games which saved them from relegation in 1999.

“Everyone at Everton Football Club is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of one of the Club’s most popular and much-loved former strikers, Kevin Campbell,” they said on their website.

Campbell, who also played for Leicester, Leyton Orient, Nottingham Forest, Trabzonspor, West Bromwich Albion and Cardiff, said one of his favourite memories in football was scoring the winner in the 2000 Merseyside derby, Everton’s last victory at Anfield for 22 years

“It was at the Kop End and my view, which will live with me until the day I die, is the Blues in the Kop going crazy,” he said.

In January 2001, manager Walter Smith made Campbell Everton’s first black captain.

“He made me the first black captain of Everton, which is something that I’m so proud of,” Campbell said.

Campbell moved to West Brom in January 2005 and was part of their “great escape”, as they became the first club bottom of the Premier League at Christmas to survive.

His son, Tyrese Campbell, is a striker who has just been released by Championship side Stoke City after seven seasons at the club.

A recent ruling by the Court of Appeal in Rivers State has sparked confusion and differing interpretations from supporters of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike.

The ruling, which ordered the maintenance of the “status quo” on two motions filed by Martin Amaewhule-led Rivers lawmakers in case number CA/PH/198/2024, has been claimed as a victory by both sides.

The pro-Wike camp argues that the ruling recognizes Amaewhule as the authentic Speaker of the Rivers House of Assembly, while Fubara’s loyalists claim it acknowledges Oko Jumbo as the leader of the three-man Assembly.

The state government, in a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Joseph Johnson, confirmed the Court of Appeal’s ruling and clarified that the status quo refers to the current situation, which recognizes Oko Jumbo as the leader of the Assembly.

“Court of Appeal refused to grant the prayer to set aside the various actions of Rt. Hon Victor Oko-jumbo as their presumption of correctness of an order of a Court. It held that granting same would be tantamount to determining the appeal at this stage. The Court went on to order that the present status quo should be maintained pending the hearing of the Appeal.

“Ruling on the 2nd Motion which was brought to set aside the Order of interlocutory injunction of the Lower Court, the Court of Appeal refused and dismissed the motion on notice to set aside the Order of Interlocutory Injunction by Honourable Justice C.N Wali decreed on the 29th day of May 2024 and reiterated that the ‘present’ status quo should be maintained contrary to the status quo before the filing of the Suit that was sought by the Appellants.

“The Respondents are to file their Briefs within 72 hours of being served. The case has been adjourned to 20/6/24 for Hearing of the Appeal,” the Commissioner for Information said.

However, Oraye St Franklyn, a lawyer and supporter of Nyesom Wike, countered that status quo means the position of things before the crisis, which was Amaewhule’s speakership.

“Status quo means the position prevailing when the defendant embarked upon the activity sought to be restrained,” Franklyn said citing Fellowes v. Fisher (1976) Q.B.122. at 141B per Sir John Pennycuick, per ANTHONY IKECHUKWU IGUH, JSC (Pp 21 – 21 Paras F – G) Ayorinde v AG of Oyo State SC 1996 to back his claim.

He added: “The Court of Appeal today said Status Quo should remain, meaning the position of things before Amaewhule was taken to court should remain as is.

“Oko Jumbo cannot therefore be seen in public to be presenting himself as Speaker as that immediately amounts to contempt of court.

“He cannot be recognized at State functions and not in brochures. It also means the illegal withholding of salaries of members of the Rivers State House of Assembly ceases forthwith.

“This is what Status Quo means. If they do not comply, they would be in contempt.”

The Court of Appeal has adjourned the case until June 20, 2024, for the hearing of the appeal, and ordered the respondents to file their briefs within 72 hours.

A former governor of Ekiti State Kayode Fayemi believes states should determine the minimum wage they can pay.

The Federal Government and labour unions have been locked in negotiations over a new minimum wage for months. While the latter insists on N250,000, the government is offering N62,000.

But Fayemi is advocating a decentralised minimum wage negotiation, arguing that states should determine what they can pay factoring in their peculiarities.

“Every governor has to deal with the issue of national minimum wage. When I was governor and chairman of the governor’s forum, and I believe even till this recent negotiation, is that we should decentralise minimum wage negotiations and allow states to have their own negotiations with their own labor unions whilst the Federal Government conducts its own negotiations because the fingers are not equal,” he said on Friday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today. 

“This should be decentralised and each state should define in conjunction with their labour unions, with transparency with all the records provided to the labor unions and say, ‘Look, this is what we have, but you are also only five or 10% of our population. We also have another 90% of the population that we must attend to.”

Fayemi believes the talk about a new minimum wage is all about dogma, saying a decentralised negotiation does not mean workers in the state will earn less than those at the federal level.

“What we’re dealing with now is dogma. Labour does not want to hear anything about decentralized national minimum wage and decentralised national minimum wage does not mean that what is paid at the level of the state will be lower than the federal,” the former minister said.

“In the ’60s and the ’50s, civil servants in the western regions used to earn more than federal civil servants.”

‘Cut Your Coat According To Your Size’

The minimum wage talks have continued to trigger reactions from stakeholders across the country.

While the governors insist the earlier N60,000 offer to labour is unsustainable, a human rights lawyer Femi Falana believes the states and Federal Government can pay the minimum wage if they have political will.

In his speech at a dinner to celebrate Democracy Day on June 12, President Bola Tinubu promised to pay what the government can afford despite the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) insisting on N250,000 as a new minimum wage.

“The minimum wage is going to be what Nigerians can afford, what you can afford, and what I can afford. Cut your coat according to your size, if you have size at all,” Tinubu said.