APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
The report of the meeting of the Federal Government and the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress on Monday to resolve issues over the looming industrial action dominates the headlines of Nigerian newspapers on Monday.
The Punch reports that the Federal Government and the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress will meet on Monday, September 18, 2023 (today) to resolve issues over the looming industrial action.
The Director of Information, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Olajide Oshundun, disclosed the meeting between the two parties in a Sunday statement.
It read, “The Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, has again invited the Nigerian Labour Congress for another meeting over its planned indefinite strike.
“The minister, who directed the Department of Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations to convene a meeting with the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress for Monday, September 18, 2023, said it was important that the unions sit with the government to resolve all pending matters to avert further disruption to the economy.
“According to the Minister, the administration of President Bola Tinubu will always engage organised labour and respond to its concerns after due consultation and negotiations in order to guarantee industrial harmony, which is critical to the attainment of the Renewed Hope Agenda.”
A source confirmed that the NLC would be meeting with the Federal Government on Monday and the congress would be in attendance.
“We will be in attendance tomorrow to listen to what the Federal Government will say,” the source said.
The newspaper says that the rise in the cost of crude oil, coupled with the depreciation of the naira against the United States dollar, might lead to a hike in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, oil marketers stated on Sunday.
It was also gathered that the sharp rise in crude oil price to about $94/barrel and the crisis around forex, had warranted a gradual increase in the amount being quietly spent as subsidy on petrol by the Federal Government.
Dealers in the downstream oil sector explained that the cost of crude oil and the exchange rate of the dollar accounted for over 80 per cent of the cost of PMS.
Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, rose to $94/barrel on Sunday, the highest figure in 2023. Oil had started the year at about $82/barrel, dipped to $70/barrel in June, but traded above $92/barrel in the past week.
Also, The PUNCH reported on Thursday that the naira weakened to N950/dollar as forex scarcity worsened.
The report stated that the naira fell further against the dollar the preceding day (Wednesday), after closing at 950/$ at the parallel market.
Bureau de Change operators had told The PUNCH that the naira, which earlier closed at 930/$ at the close of operations on Tuesday, was bought and sold at 935/$ and 950/$ on Wednesday.
On his part, the President, Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, Billy Gillis-Harry, said though the cost of crude had been rising lately, the NNPCL should be able to manage it for the benefit of Nigerians, with respect to petroleum products prices.
The Guardian says that there are worries about the military continuous burning of vessels caught with stolen crude on the nation’s waters, as stakeholders claimed that the actions are aimed at destroying evidence of the crimes.
This is coming on the heels of the incessant burning of vessels involved in crude oil theft by security operatives.
A United States (U.S.) Certified Maritime Security Specialist, Captain Alfred Oniye, said arresting and burning the vessel amounts to destroying evidence, especially when the investigation has not been concluded.
“Some people are trying to play games around the stolen crude oil. Now, who owns and chartered the vessels? Who owns the product in it? Where were they loaded? Who gave them clearance to load?
“You can’t go and load without first getting clearance. Before you enter into the platform you are going to load, the security surrounding that platform will vet your clearance to be sure you have the clearance to load the crude oil. Now they cleared the vessel in and you are loaded, and they are taking the product to Cameroon and you are apprehended, this story is not clear and it is an organised crime,” he explained.
Oniye, who is also the Secretary General, the Merchant Seafarers Association of Nigeria, said rather than locate the receiver of the products, the seafarers are victimised, noting that they only have the responsibility to load and go and discharge the products.
The newspaper says that the President, the Nigerian Association of Master Mariners (NAMM) Captain Tajudeen Alao, said the burning of vessels caught with stolen crude by the military is an emerging trend that needed to be tackled frontally.
Alao argued that this practice would have been acceptable about 30 to 40 years ago when the international law on recycling and scrapping of ships was not in place.
He said in the last 10 to 15 years, there have been some conventions on burning, including the Hong Kong, Nairobi and the London conventions.
Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, at the weekend, put broadband penetration nationwide at 47.01 per cent.
Assuring the citizens that the regulation was focused on achieving 70 per cent penetration target in the next two years, Danbatta hinted that speedy network would hit 50 per cent before the end of this year.
The NCC boss, who addressing journalists and chief executives in Kano, took time to reel out the modest achievements recorded in the last eight years, while expressing satisfaction that the telecommunications sector contributed of 16 per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the third quarter.
Though the commission witnessed almost 50 per cent drop in foreign direct investments (FDIs) in 2022, Danbatta, however, disclosed that the agency remitted $900 million to government coffers from proceeds of 5G action towards the end of last year.
The EVC added that 220 million Nigerians now use mobile telephone, while 160 million subscribe to the Internet, with tele-density standing at 115.70 per cent.
GIK/APA