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No going back on strike, says NLC in October 1 message

No going back on strike, says NLC in October 1 message
Organised labour have asked citizens to join the nationwide strike it called from October 3, saying it is the march to freedom, better living conditions and prosperity for all.
It also through the Nigeria Labour Congress pleaded with royal fathers and other well-meaning Nigerians to advise government to listen to labour and lessen the suffering across the country.
“This nation can work for all of us. This nation can be made beautiful but good things do not just happen; they are worked out. Liberty is not a ripe fruit that falls to the ground on its own accord. With our hands joined together as the owners of Nigeria, in truth and one heart, we can work for our freedom. Let us awaken this giant and make it work for us,” the NLC said in an emotional tone.
This came as Sunday Vanguard learnt that the Federal Government is expected to meet with labour leaders today in Abuja in an effort to avert the planned strike beginning from October 3.
In an independent anniversary massage titled Nigeria: ‘The travails of a mismanaged giant’, NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, said the struggle from October 3 is for Nigeria to rise and shine once more as a beacon of hope and prosperity for all its citizens.
Ajaero noted that Nigeria, with all its flaws at conception, possesses a great potential to be amongst the best economies of the world.
“As we mark this Independence Day, let us do so with a renewed sense of purpose. Let us acknowledge our past, confront our present challenges, and collectively work towards a brighter future for Nigeria,” he stated.
“Together, we can reclaim the greatness that has eluded us for too long. It is time for Nigeria to rise and shine once more as a beacon of hope and prosperity for all its citizens. Remember, when we stand as one refusing to be divided, we will triumph. We call on all Nigerians to join us on the 3rd day of October around Nigeria to begin our march to freedom through the indefinite nationwide strike.
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”To this end, the Nigeria Labour Congress beckons on all of us to join hands from all parts of the nation; the North, the East, the West and the South to build the needed coalition to make our nation truly an independent nation.
“As we celebrate Nigeria’s 63rd independence anniversary, it is important that we drew our attention to the fact that this nation was once a great nation filled with great hope inspired by great leaders until inept and corrupt leaders took over the helms of affairs and ran the country aground. The crisis of leadership is truly the crisis of our national development.
Mismanagement
“The continued mismanagement of our resources has made it difficult for us a nation and as a people to make sustainable progress rather, we have continued to march backwards with every preceding year looking worse than the previous one.
“Regrettably, the decades that followed were marked by a series of missteps, mismanagement, and missed opportunities. The erosion of ethical governance, rampant corruption, and political instability became defining features of our nation. Instead of harnessing our potential for the collective good, our leaders often pursued personal interests, leaving the masses to grapple with the consequences.
”There is no other way to explain the fact that about 43 years ago, Nigeria had a vibrant Airline called the Nigeria Airways with a large fleet of Aircraft flying to several parts of the globe and owning large properties which spans almost half of Ikeja GRA and in London and capital cities of Europe. We had a national Shipping line that had in its fleet several Vessels which competed favourably with other shipping lines all over the world.
“Yet, as a nation, we have managed to deliberately become a nation with neither a national Airline nor a national shipping line. We became a nation that derives happiness in making a mockery of ourselves as was typified by the Nigeria Air debacle where we had to fake the ownership of an Airline by shamelessly borrowing and repainting an Aircraft from Ethiopian Airline.
“This period of independence must serve as a time when all of us have to seriously seek to question ourselves and thoroughly re-examine our actions as a people and as a nation.
We have to soberly reflect on why we have moved from a once prosperous nation to become a country that is the poverty capital of the world with over 133million multi-dimensionally poor people. This number has since increased after the hike in the price of petrol (PMS) by His Excellency Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“It is indeed an opportunity to find how we have moved to a nation that had a refinery that was operational in the 1960s which grew into another three refineries in the 1980s but which have been deliberately made obsolete by those we have entrusted the leadership of our nation.
”Nigerians must seek to find out why we have become a nation that must import a product which can easily be refined in our nation and why the conscious sabotage of our economy by those who occupy the helm of affairs in our country? We must make conscious effort at finding out what the phantom called fuel subsidy is, how much was it worth, who was receiving the monies claimed to have been spent and why the obvious lies when the Direct Sales and Direct Purchase (DSDP) agreement was the framework for the import and distribution of products in Nigeria?
Bastardisation of Naira
“Also of great importance is the willful bastardisation of the Naira and the attendant Dollarisation of the economy by the nation’s leaders. We need to find out whether truly a genuine foreign exchange market exists in its true sense in Nigeria. Why would the value of the nation’s currency continue a free fall when the value of accruals from crude is rising? What magic has made it difficult for the value of the Naira to remain stable against the Dollar especially when the Dollar is being pummeled all over the world?
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”Workers all over Nigeria would want to find out why almost all the privatized entities were sold at a give away price to the so-called investors? Why is it that most of them have either been stripped and scrapped and no longer operational? Who are the real buyers of these entities? We will want to find out who bought the GENCOS and DISCOs, who bought the Ikot – Abasi Aluminium Smelter company.
Why it is no longer producing but has been shut down? Nigerians deserve to know and we must ask this question: what is going on here?
”This Independence Day celebration should allow us to ask those who are leading us why they have refused to fund public Universities appropriately and have instead decided to establish and own private universities? We may wish to know why they have turned Nigeria from a country where foreigners took pride in coming for education to a country where majority of the citizens go abroad to obtain quality tertiary education. We would want to know why the elites have managed to price education out of the reach of the poor.
”It is also an opportunity for Nigerian workers to ask our leaders why our hospitals have been turned into places to go and die instead of places to go and be healed? We would want to find out why our healthcare system that used to boast of the patronage of influential individuals and families from all over the world have suddenly become anathema both to foreigners and the Nigerian rich? We want to find out why the rich throng abroad to treat minor ailments instead of making use of our health facilities?
”We want to find out what happened to the Ships in the defunct Nigeria Shipping line and what happened to the Aircraft and properties of Nigeria Airways that scattered all over the world. Who acquired them and at how much and where is the money from their acquisition? It will also be interesting to find out who acquired the Steel companies and why none of them is producing steel today?
”Much more, Nigerian workers will want to find out why it has become difficult for an army that fought the Civil war and won, fought in Lebanon, Sierra Leone and in Liberia to defeat the Boko Haram insurgents? We want to find out whether it is a deliberate tool to keep Nigeria in perpetual crisis.
”One of the most painful aspects of Nigeria’s journey has been the economic struggles faced by the majority of our citizens. Despite being blessed with abundant natural resources, poverty and unemployment have become entrenched in our society. The promise of prosperity for all remains elusive, as a significant portion of our population continues to live in abject poverty.
“Moreover, social disparities have widened, with a yawning gap between the privileged few and the marginalized many. Access to quality healthcare, education, and basic
infrastructure remains a distant dream for millions of Nigerians. This inequality not only undermines our social fabric but also hampers our collective progress.
Labour meets FG
Meanwhile, the Federal Government and Labour leaders are expected to meet today in an effort to find a common ground and avert the planned nationwide industrial action from Wednesday.
Sunday Vanguard gathered that the meeting will hold at the Aso Rock Villa.
Sources informed Sunday Vanguard that the meeting will commence at 12 noon.
Recall that leaders of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and their Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, counterparts, on Friday, shunned a meeting called by the Federal Government in a desperate effort to avert the planned nationwide strike from October 3.
According to the two labour centres, government’s invitation came late as they had scheduled engagements outside Abuja.
Labour leaders had requested for a rescheduling of the meeting, which the government had done.
No going back on strike, says NLC in October 1 message
News
What Trump should do to stop killing of innocent people in Nigeria, others – Ex-minister

What Trump should do to stop killing of innocent people in Nigeria, others – Ex-minister
Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has advised United States President, Donald Trump, on various steps to take stop the killing of innocent Nigerians and other people across the world.
In a statement posted on his verified Facebook page on Sunday, Fani-Kayode criticized U.S. foreign policy, alleging that American agencies fund terrorism in Nigeria while simultaneously imposing sanctions.
He stated: “First you confess that #USAID is funding Boko Haram, ISWAP, and other terrorist organisations in Nigeria, and now you say you want to impose sanctions on us for the very same terrorist activities that your USAID is funding.
“It appears that you Yankees are as confused as the autumn morning and a victim of your own obsession for power and control.”
Fani-Kayode further outlined actions he believes the U.S. should take to ensure global peace, including halting financial corruption, ending foreign wars, and holding American political figures accountable.
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“If you want the killing of innocent people to stop in Nigeria or elsewhere and if you truly desire world peace then get rid of your monumental appetite for money laundering, thievery, misappropriation of public funds, stealing, and corruption through contrived and premeditated foreign wars and conflicts,” he said.
He also urged the U.S. to reconsider its stance on Israel and its involvement in global conflicts, stating: “Stop supporting and funding the genocide in #Gaza and turmoil in the Middle East, stop giving Israel a free pass on all her atrocities, bring peace to Ukraine and reign in #NATO, get rid of Zelensky, build bridges with Russia, desist from troubling the #EU, stay in your lane, mind your business and stop interfering in the affairs of other countries.”
Fani-Kayode concluded by calling for sweeping reforms in the U.S. government, including jailing several prominent American figures, dismantling the “Deep State,” and releasing classified files related to historical events.
“Do all these things, and not only will your country become a better place, but peace will return to the world,” he added.
What Trump should do to stop killing of innocent people in Nigeria, others – Ex-minister
News
FG refutes US Congress claim of terrorists targeting Nigeria’s Christians

FG refutes US Congress claim of terrorists targeting Nigeria’s Christians
The federal government has dismissed claims that Christians are being deliberately targeted for killings in parts of Nigeria, describing such assertions as misinformation designed to pressure the international community into designating Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).
This stance was outlined in a statement issued by Kimiebi Ebienfa, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who attributed the narrative to “fifth columnists” seeking to misrepresent the country’s security situation.
Former Interior Minister and retired military general, Abdulrahman Dambazau, also strongly refuted the claims made by the US Congress regarding religious persecution, arguing that Muslims—particularly in the northern regions—are disproportionately affected by the ongoing security crisis.
The statements come in response to US Congressional hearings and potential sanctions initiated under former President Donald Trump, following reports of increasing attacks on Christians in Nigeria.
In its statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed deep concern over what it described as misleading reports, stating:
“While the federal government acknowledges the security challenges confronting the nation, it is imperative to clarify that these negative activities are not driven by religious bias, nor targeted against any particular religious group.”
The ministry stressed that insurgency and banditry in predominantly Muslim northern Nigeria do not single out any faith for attack. It added that portraying the situation as Christian persecution is “erroneous and misleading.”
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The government reiterated its commitment to safeguarding all Nigerians regardless of religion, ethnicity, or gender, and emphasized that the country’s security issues are complex, involving criminal activities, terrorism, and communal clashes—including farmer-herder conflicts—which are not rooted in religious discrimination.
The statement further highlighted efforts by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to tackle insecurity, including the deployment of security forces, intelligence operations, and community engagement strategies. It noted progress made in curbing banditry and insurgency and the establishment of a Ministry of Livestock Development to address tensions between farmers and pastoralists.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the international community to verify information before drawing conclusions that could inflame tensions within Nigeria.
“We call on all stakeholders, including the media, civil society organizations, and foreign partners, to refrain from spreading unverified claims that could undermine national unity and stability.
In a related development, Dambazau criticized the US Congress for mischaracterizing Nigeria’s security challenges, insisting that Muslims in the North have borne the brunt of violence.
“The US Congress got it wrong,” he asserted. “While it’s true that churches and Christian pastors have been attacked, mosques and Islamic clerics have not been spared. The vast majority of victims, especially in the Northeast, are Muslims.”
He pointed to Zamfara State, where he said 99% of the population is Muslim, yet violent attacks occur almost weekly.
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Dambazau also criticized figures such as Bishop Matthew Kukah, accusing them of presenting an inaccurate and divisive picture of the conflict.
“It is not about religion,” he said. “It is about the fact that these victims are Nigerians, and they require protection against these horrible people. They make it look as if it is a systemic issue, that maybe the government is coming out, as a matter of policy, to persecute these people. That is wrong.”
He further argued that data indicates that the most affected regions, such as the Northeast and Northwest, have predominantly Muslim populations.
“Reports of mass killings and kidnappings in these regions often involve Muslim victims. While precise statistics are difficult to obtain due to the fluid nature of the conflict, reports consistently highlight that Muslim communities are heavily impacted.”
Dambazau urged the US Congress to adopt a more nuanced view of Nigeria’s security crisis, warning that imposing sanctions based on an incomplete understanding of the conflict could have serious consequences.
Quoting a post from his X handle @mypd2020, he wrote:
“To impede the progress of a country like Nigeria has been made easy mainly by using the religious and ethnic fault lines.The idea that insurgency and banditry are targeting only Christians is unfortunate. The same US Congress recently said that USAID is the main sponsor of Boko Haram and other terrorist organizations.The question is, who is killing the Muslims and displacing them in their thousands and millions? Is it a USAID project, or those making the false accusations, or both? Nigerians should learn to approach and solve their problems while the US solves theirs, otherwise, we remain in perpetual stagnation.”
FG refutes US Congress claim of terrorists targeting Nigeria’s Christians
News
Plot to impeach Fubara thickens

Plot to impeach Fubara thickens
The political camp of the Rivers state Governor, Siminalayi Fubara was again pushed into a deeper trench by the decision of the state House of Assembly to probe the alleged age falsification of the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Simeon Amadi.
At its 135th legislative sitting, the House resolved to write to the Department of the State Service, DSS, to investigate the CJ following allegations against him by the Leader of the House, Hon Major Jack.
The House agreed that falsification of age was a “serious offence” but the allegation must be confirmed and doing so, the CJ has to be thoroughly investigated to establish the authenticity of the allegation.
Responding to this development, the Speaker, Rt. Hon Martins Amaewhule said by section 128 of the constitution, the House is empowered to investigate the allegation but quickly accused Governor Fubara of barring heads of ministries, departments and agencies from appearing before the House.
Remember that Justice Amadi was screened to become the Chief Judge of the state about three years when Wike was a governor. Unconfirmed report has it that Amadi, who hails from the same Ikwerre ethnic nationality with Wike, turned down alleged N5 billion gratification and tastefully furnished houses in London and America to ditch the governor and clear the grounds for his eventual impeachment.
Commenting on the CJ’s ordeal, Hon Ogbonna Nwuke, former House of Representatives member in the 7th National Assembly said the action of the Assembly members was just to intimidate the Chief Judge in order to get at the governor.
“The process of impeaching the governor is not easy. That is why they are intimidating the loyalists of the governor just to create a state of emergency, at most”.
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Giving the quick succession at which events happened in the state in the course of the week barely few hours after the Minister of the federal capital territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike on Wednesday publicly declared that the state Governor, Siminalayi Fubara could be impeached by the House of Assembly and “heaven will not fall”, it shows that there is more in the offing.
The minister’s audacity came just a day after a crucial meeting between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the delegation of the pan Niger Delta Elders Forum, PANDEF, in Abuja wherein the latter was asked to go back home and prevail on the embattled Governor to “obey the rule of law”, in other words, the Supreme Court judgment.
Meanwhile, Wike’s impeachment threat to Fubara and his vituperations on the Ijaw ethnic nationality has since attracted the ire of the Supreme Egbesu Assembly, SEA, a religious deity of the Ijaws and other revered topnotch organizations such as the Ijaw national Congress, INC and its youth wing, Ijaw Youth Council, IYC.
Recall that in the early years of militancy in the Niger Delta with Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta states being the hotbed of the crisis, the Egbesu god was said to have been invoked to wade off the incursion of the federal troops into the flashpoints of the crisis.
Leader of the Supreme Egbesu Assembly, SEA, an ancestral religious institution of the Ijaw people, Sergeant Werinipre Digifa, told Saturday Vanguard on phone that the Ijaw people would “shock” President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the appropriate time in the event that the Governor of Rivers state, Siminalayi Fubara is impeached.
Digifa hit back at the President who he said lacks the capacity to tame Wike. “Tinubu should be held responsible for the recklessness and arrogance Wike is exhibiting against the Ijaw nation.
“This is why I say that Nigeria is a banana republic. Somebody has turned the judiciary to his personal estate. He manipulates the judiciary the way he wants it just to suit his desire. If they impeach Fubara, we will not go into violence because Ijaw people don’t believe in violence. We will take everything in good faith. But we will shock them”.
The head of the Egbesu Assembly added that ”we are keenly watching the ongoing political trend which is pure harassment and the intimidation of the Governor of Rivers state. We are listening to the insults, the unguarded utterances and the abuse that is being heaped on the Ijaw ethnic nationality by Hon Wike.
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”The Niger Delta is a community and when controversies arise in a community, reasonable people don’t jump in to talk. There is an African adage which says ‘two mad people never behave madly at the same time.’
“We are not sleeping, neither are we cowards. But note that we have always won our just battles and this will be no exception. This crass arrogance being displayed by Wike was avoidable”.
Digifa expressed disappointment that President Tinubu has allowed the crisis to fester, saying ”I had earlier thought that he had the capacity to rule Nigeria as a president, but from the showings on ground, it is evident that we had a misplaced value on President Tinubu’s leadership capacity.”
He warned President Tinubu that “by the time Wike finishes with you, the Yoruba nation would have incurred the anger of the Ijaw man. The spirits that have protected the Ijaw Nation over the years will bring the wrath on the Yoruba to teach them a lesson that could be worse than what has happened to those who attempted to humiliate us”.
INC’s position on Wike’s bluster to oust Fubara from power is that people should look at issues from the broader perspective and not through the prism of sectarian sentiment.
Professor Benjamin Okaba, President of INC, said Wike’s so called insult on Ijaws smacks off the smart game of giving it an ethnic coloration to get the sympathy of other ethnic groups and distract their attention from the sympathy they have for governor Fubara.
“When the Ijaws led the struggle for the creation of Rivers state, where were Wike’s ancestors? He quipped. “You don’t flirt after a hyena. Wike will regret, mark my words, and become a political orphan. When an empire rises to its peak, another empire will rise. We are heading towards the Marxian synthesis as the political denouement is already unfolding ahead of 2027.
“Wike’s bravado is clearly stimulated by nothing else but the tacit support and encouragement from the Presidency. Remove Wike from Power, he will automatically transform into an empty and most vulnerable entity in Nigerian political history”, he said.
In its declaration after a zonal emergency meeting, the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, Eastern Zone put the federal government on notice that it will stoutly resist every attempt by the planners to impeach Governor Fubara, “until he has served out his two tenures of eight years as his predecessors did, by any means necessary”.
The Ijaw youths announced that the planners of the Governor’s impeachment, “if they do not desist from their evil plot, should be ready to bear the consequences of their actions in the event of the breakdown of law and order in the State”.
Also, a statement from the Ijaw Matters viewpoint said the Ijaw Nation has been patient for too long, saying “our patience is not weakness. Nyesom Wike, in his ……arrogance, has crossed every line of decency and respect. His continued insults against the Ijaw people will not go unanswered”.
It said it was a disgrace that a man who once begged for the support of Ijaw leaders and communities now dares to spit on the same people who made him. “We will not forget. We will not forgive. And when the time comes, Wike will beg, he will crawl before the Ijaw Nation seeking mercy, but he will find none”.
The group vowed that “Wike will pay for every insult, every slight, and every word of disrespect. The day of reckoning is closer than he thinks”.
Plot to impeach Fubara thickens
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