The Federal Government has announced plans to introduce tolls on major roads across the country following the completion of ongoing construction and renovation projects.

Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, revealed this during an Inter-Ministerial Press Briefing in Abuja, part of activities marking Nigeria’s 64th independence anniversary.

“We have the Lagos-Ibadan (Expressway), we are completing it and we are tolling it,” Umahi said.

Other key road projects such as the Second Niger Bridge, Abuja-Kano Road, and Makurdi-9th Mile, among others, will also be tolled, according to the minister.

The former governor of Ebonyi State said that the tolling system is expected to generate substantial revenue for the Federal Government.

According to Umahi, private sector investors have been engaged to provide funds for the construction of these roads, in collaboration with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Works, to ensure the effective management of the toll system.

Speaking about the Keffi-Makurdi Road, which has been completed, Umahi noted that the government is working on a paperless payment system in partnership with the Ministry of Finance.

He assured that road users will see significant improvements in safety and convenience, factors he believes will encourage public acceptance of tolls.

“For example, we are completing the Lagos-Ibadan, we are working on Makurdi to 9th Mile in Enugu State, we are working from Abuja to Lagos. These roads are going to be tolled. But we are not just tolling them, we are bringing confidence in the use of these roads.

“If people can travel at night because we are bringing security, where the response time will be 10 minutes on the entire corridor, where you have solar light permanently there and then reduce travel time, and through the tolling, the roads are maintained, then, there will be confidence because Nigerians will pay if the roads are good,” Umahi said.

The minister further explained that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is treating road development as an investment, unlike previous administrations. He revealed that the current government inherited 300 damaged roads and bridges, and assured that new road construction projects would commence in all six geopolitical zones starting from October 1, 2024.

The Federal Government (FG) is set to begin with the payment of the new minimum wage to civil servants.

The spokesperson for the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Bawa Mokwa disclosed this to newsmen on Thursday.

“Employees under the Federal Government (FG) payroll can expect to receive notifications regarding their updated minimum wage salary payments from today,” Mokwa said.

”What I can tell you is that the minimum wage salary payment is today but I am not sure of the arrears,”

President Bola Tinubu approved a new minimum wage of N70,000 on July 18, 2024 after a series of meetings with the organised labour.

President Bola Tinubu says Africa holds a significant portion of the world’s mineral reserves, including 92 per cent of global platinum, 56 per cent of cobalt, and 54 per cent of manganese, yet it is underdeveloped.

The president attributed the continent’s underdevelopment to the fact that the resources were primarily extracted and exported to foreign countries for refining and manufacturing.

Tinubu, represented by his Vice, Kashim Shettima,  stated this in a keynote address, during the African Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) meeting, held on the sidelines of the ongoing 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, United States.

A statement on the event was made available to newsmen in Abuja by Mr. Stanley Nkwocha, the spokesperson of the vice president.

In the statement, the President noted that extracting raw minerals in Africa had continued to keep the continent in a state of poverty

According to him, the extraction of raw minerals without local processing only deepens Africa’s underdevelopment and prolongs its economic challenges.

Tinubu, therefore, stressed the urgent need for the continent to break free from the dependency.

“This has left the continent at the mercy of foreign markets, forcing it to repurchase finished products at much higher prices.

“A situation in which the raw minerals are extracted from our countries, exported, refined, and sold to us as finished products merely consolidates the foundations of our misery and pushes us further down the depths of underdevelopment,” he said.

The President called on African nations to adopt a new agenda that prioritised local value addition, which was essential to industrialising the continent and providing sustainable economic growth.

On the evolution of lithium-ion technology, Tinubu noted that the development had enabled the swift production and manufacturing of portable consumer electronics such as laptops, computers, cellular phones, and electric cars.

“We live in a world of electronic mobility in which lithium-powered batteries provide higher specific energy, higher energy density, higher energy efficiency, longer cycle life, and longer calendar life.

“The global need for new battery technology has triggered a new scramble for Africa’s critical minerals.

“Africa possesses 92 percent of global reserves of platinum, 56 per cent of Cobalt, 54 per cent of Manganese and 36 per cent of Chromium.

” These are the minerals employed in the manufacturing of the new batteries. In short, the world needs Africa today more than ever,” he said.

Tinubu further emphasised Africa’s determination to move beyond the historical exploitation of its resources, advocating the localisation of the entire mineral value chain within the continent.

He assured of his administration’s commitment to adding local value to Nigeria’s mineral resources as part of the Africa Minerals Strategy Group’s (AMSG) vision chaired by Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake.

Tinubu drew attention to Nigeria’s vast market of over 226 million people, adding that the success of the country’s 10 billion dollars telecoms market is proof of its growth potential

” This is evident in the manufacturing of Lithium batteries, concentrates and components to set up their business and domesticate the value chain from extraction to production in Nigeria.”

He affirmed that the AMSG was focused on transforming Africa from a supplier of raw materials into a global mining industry stakeholder.

On his part, the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, who spoke in his capacity as the Chairman of the Africa Minerals Strategy Group, laid out the group’s vision to transform Africa’s mining industry through local value addition and industrialisation.

The minister criticised the traditional model of mineral extraction in Africa where raw materials are exported for processing abroad.

This, according to him, resulted in loss of economic opportunities and jobs on the continent.

He maintained that the pattern of trade had left African nations vulnerable, as they were forced to import finished goods at inflated prices.

Alake proposed a shift towards local value addition – processing raw minerals into finished goods within Africa – as a strategy for enhancing the continent’s economic independence and contributing more significantly to its GDP.

He acknowledged that, although the continent faces significant developmental challenges, Africa’s natural wealth provides a pathway to prosperity if leveraged correctly.

The General Secretary of AMSG, Mr Moses Engadu, called for a new vision and political will among African leaders to ensure value addition becomes a sacrosanct condition to granting mineral license to any investor.

The roundtable had representatives from investors, development partners, multilateral institutions, and major financial institutions in attendance. 

The Federal Government says it will implement measures to clear all pension liabilities under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and ensure that no liabilities will be accumulated in the future.

The Acting Director-General of National Pension Commission (PenCom), Ms Omolola Oloworaran said this when the Nigeria Union of Pensioners Contributory Pension Scheme Sector (NUPCPS) paid her a courtesy visit in Abuja on Wednesday.

She said that PenCom was collaborating with relevant stakeholders to address issues related to pension increases, accrued pension rights, and other pension liabilities.

Oloworaran said the initiative would soon be presented to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for approval.

She said that the nonpayment to annuitants under the African Alliance Insurance Company, which was being regulated by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) would soon be resolved.

“ PenCom is working with NAICOM to resolve the issue and announce a regulatory change that will require all pension funds under annuity to be domiciled with Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs) to prevent similar issues in the future.”

The acting D-G said that poor service delivery by any PFA to retirees would not be tolerated.

She said that PFAs and PenCom must provide accessible complaint channels to ensure speedy resolution of issues.

Oloworaran commended the NUPCPS for their visit and reiterated Pencom’s commitment to maintaining a positive and collaborative relationship with the Union.

Earlier, the National Chairman of NUPCPS, Comrade Sylva Nwaiwu, said that the Federal Government’s failure to implement pension increases for retirees under the CPS was unjust and inexplicable.

“ The Federal Government’s non-release of funds to enable PenCom to pay pension increases for retirees under the CPS is not commendable.

“ While pension increases are implemented for retirees under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS), CPS retirees are being neglected,” he said.

Nwaiwu also criticised the irregular release of accrued pension rights by the Federal Government resulting to the delay of retirement benefits for retirees of Treasury-Funded Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) since March 2023.

He said some NUPCPS members who are annuitants under the African Alliance Insurance Company had not received their pensions for five months, from May to September.

Nwaiwu urged PenCom to intervene and resolve the issue and reintroduce sensational engagement with the pensioners

The NUPCPS chairman also urged PenCom to strengthen its oversight of PFAs emphasising the need for improved service delivery to customers.

However, Nwaiwu commended PenCom’s significant achievements in the CPS sector, particularly its ability to grow pension funds to over N20 trillion as of June.

He also commended PenCom for ensuring the security of pension funds, as no case of fraud has been reported in the CPS’s since its first 20 years of operation (2004–2024).

Also speaking, Mrs Grace Yusuf, who retired as a  Deputy Editor-in-Chief from NAN, said that the non-payment of accrued rights was having devastating effects on retirees.

According to her, some of the retirees have died while waiting to get their benefits.

“To add salt to injury, we pensioners are no longer under the NHIS, thereby denying us access to healthcare, resulting to deteriorating health and increasing health-related issues; leading to untimely deaths because of lack of money to buy drugs.

“ Some of us still have children who are not employed, how much more being able to fend for their aged parents. It is painful.

“ However, PenCom can liaise with the Federal Government so that retirees can access their benefits latest one to three months after retirement.

“Also, PenCom should through the office of the Head of Service (HOS), make retirement planning education compulsory in all MDAs.

” This knowledge will help retirees plan very well as many of them are suffering now because of inadequate pension and retirement education,” Yussuf said.

She urged PenCom to make late payment of retirees benefits a serious offence, so that it would be taken seriously, adding that removing the payment of gratuities to retirees is unfair and ungodly.

Yussuf said: ” majority of pensioners are wallowing in poverty and hunger, emotional trauma, social isolation, and reduced quality of life.

” The government has a moral obligation to do the needful urgently to save pensioners from avoidable deaths after serving their fatherland meritoriously,” she said.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities has issued a 14-day strike warning ultimatum to the Federal Government to resolve some lingering issues dating as far back as 2009.

ASUU President, Emmanuel Osodeke in a statement issued on Wednesday, said the body is seeking the conclusion of the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement based on the Nimi Briggs Committee’s Draft Agreement of 2021.

It also demanded the release of withheld salaries due to the 2022 strike action, and expressed frustration with the government’s lack of commitment and delay tactics.

It stated that these actions were generating a crisis in the public university system.

“In view of the foregoing, ASUU resolves to give the Nigerian Government another 14 days, in addition to the earlier 21 days, beginning from Monday, September 23, 2024, during which all the lingering issues must have been concretely addressed to the satisfaction of the membership of the union.

“The union should not be held responsible for any industrial disharmony that arises from the government’s failure to seize the new opportunity offered by ASUU to nip the looming crisis in the bud,” ASUU said

ASUU is also demanding the release of unpaid salaries for staff on sabbatical, part-time, and adjunct appointments affected by the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, and the payment of outstanding third-party deductions such as check-off dues and cooperative contributions.

It added that it wants funding for the revitalisation of public universities, partly captured in the 2023 Federal Government Budget, and the payment of Earned Academic Allowances partly captured in the 2023 Federal Government Budget.

Other issues include the proliferation of universities by Federal and State Governments, the implementation of the reports of visitation panels to universities, the reversal of the illegal dissolution of Governing Councils, and the adoption of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution as a replacement for IPPIS.

The federal government has approved the increase of the monthly allowance for Corps Members from N33,000 to N77,000, The Guardian can report.

A statement on Wednesday night by the Acting Director, Information and Public Relations of the Corps, Caroline Embu, said this will take effect from July 2024.

According to the statement, the increase is in line with the enactment of the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act 2024.

It revealed that a letter from the National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission, dated September 25, 2024, and signed by the Chairman, Ekpo Nta, has been communicated to the NYSC leadership.

“Prior to this, the Director General of NYSC, Brigadier General YD Ahmed, had paid an advocacy visit to the Chairman, in which he solicited for a robust welfare package for Corps Members.

“The NYSC Boss is thankful to the Federal Government for the timely gesture and is optimistic that it will not only bring much-needed succor to the Corps Members but also boost their morale and motivate them to do even more in their service to the nation,” the statement read.