1. Former President Goodluck Jonathan has expressed optimism that the country will soon overcome the current socio-economic challenges facing the people. Jonathan stated this in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, yesterday, while formally declaring open the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Yenagoa Law Week 2024 with the theme: ‘The Legal Profession In A Time Of Socio-Economic Uncertainty’.
2. The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, on Friday rebuked governors for asking to be allowed to pay whatever they can afford as minimum wage to workers. It said the notion that states should be allowed to negotiate their minimum wage is not only dictatorial but also undermines the very essence, as well as the model adopted for creating a national minimum wage in Nigeria.
3. President Bola Tinubu has signed an executive order to introduce zero tariffs, excise duties and Value-Added Tax (VAT) on imported pharmaceutical inputs, a statement by the coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate has said.
4. The Presidency has clarified that the 2023 budget extension is to ensure full project execution. The clarification was made on Friday following criticism by BudgIT, a civic-tech organization that the extension was an anomaly.
5. The Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, yesterday, affirmed the judgment of a Lagos State High Court, which sentenced Nollywood actor, Olanrewaju James, popularly called Baba Ijesha, to five years imprisonment for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old minor. The appellate court in its lead judgment delivered by Justice Folashade Ojo, who presided over the case, found the appellant, Baba Ijesha, guilty on counts 4 and 5, where he was accused of indecently touching a minor and sexually assaulting her.
6. Hajiya Halima Adamu, mother of the famous Hausa singer, Dauda Adamu, popularly known as Rarara, has been abducted. She was abducted at her residence in Kahutu village, Danja local government area of Katsina State, according to a source in Kahutu village.
7. The directors of the Department of State Services (DSS) from the six states of the North East have met in Gombe State to brainstorm on tackling the security challenges bedevilling the sub-region. The Director of DSS in Gombe, Habu Rabiu Sambo said it was crucial to acknowledge the grave security threats plaguing the region, which he said were threatening the peace, lives and well-being of the people.
8. A yet-to-be-identified suspected electricity vandal has been electrocuted while attempting to steal a transformer cable which belongs to the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company. A statement on Friday by the Head, Corporate Communications of EEDC, Emeka Ezeh, said the incident happened in the early hours of Friday.
9. The Nigerian Navy has arrested two suspects and seized a wooden boat filled with 12,000 litres of Automated Gas Oil at Okarki waterfront in Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State. The Commander of Nigerian Navy Ship Soroh, Nanmar Lekan, disclosed this while parading the suspects at Okarki waterfront on Friday.
10. The late actor, John Okafor, popularly known as Mr Ibu, who passed away on March 2, 2024, after battling ill health, was laid to rest on Friday, June 28, 2024, in his hometown of Amuri, Nkanu West Local Government Area, Enugu State.
