The president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has faulted the decision of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to reject the federal government’s N70,000 transport allowance for public sector workers, saying the action is improper.

Ajaero, who made the remarks while
speaking during an interview on Channels Television on Thursday,  said officials of the TUC did not negotiate with the federal government on the subject.

Earlier on Wednesday,  TUC rejected the Federal Government’s transportation palliative for public service workers across all levels for six months.

The TUC, in a statement issued by its president, Festus Osifo, and Nuhu Toro, the secretary-general, said temporary wage awards were neither “sustainable” nor “far-reaching”.

The TUC went on to ask the Federal Government to increase workers’ salaries instead.

The Federal Government had on Tuesday announced the allowance in a memorandum of understanding (MoU) issued after a conciliation meeting between government representatives and NLC leaders in Abuja.

But reacting to the statement by TUC, Ajaero said the TUC should have negotiated its own terms with the federal government instead of rejecting what NLC negotiated.

The NLC president said the leadership of the TUC does not have the power to reject the agreement terms of a sister agency.

Ajaero said the Federal Government cannot implement an increase in workers’ salaries without going through the right processes.

“The agreement was not signed by TUC. You don’t kick against something you did not negotiate or ask for,” he said.

“I would have preferred a situation whereby if NLC was asking for one naira, TUC will be asking for 10 naira.

“TUC never asked for intervention as a result of the rising cost of transportation. On the issue of asking for wage increase, does the government gift wage increase? There must be a process put in place.

“I’m worried for some time now why you will say you reject something that was not given to you. That is not proper.

“You don’t have the power to reject what a sister agency negotiates. You have the power to ask for your own.”

The TUC and NLC have also repeatedly demanded for an increase in minimum wage.

The federal high court in Abuja has ordered Imo state governor, Hope Uzodimma, to stop parading himself as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Imo west senatorial district in the 2027 elections.

Justice Obiora Egwuatu, the presiding judge, on Thursday, held that the evidence before the court shows that Uzodimma did not win the APC Imo west senatorial district primary.

Details later…

1. The Independent National Electoral Commission has disclosed that it will determine the fate of former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami; Ladi Adebutu and other politicians omitted from its final list of candidates for the February 6, 2027 governorship elections at its next meeting on Thursday.

INEC National Commissioner, Mohammed Haruna, disclosed this in an exclusive chat with The PUNCH on Wednesday.

Pantami is contesting the Gombe governorship election, while Adebutu is contesting the Ogun governorship on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.

2. THE Presidency has described as fake news allegations that the Federal Government was planning to shift the January 16 elections. African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council, ADC-PCC, had earlier raised an alarm over alleged plot to pressure the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, into shifting the January 16 presidential election, warning President Bola Tinubu against seeking to evade an electoral verdict.

3. State governments across Nigeria have left N264.12bn in Universal Basic Education Commission matching grants unspent, even as public schools grapple with dilapidated classrooms, overcrowding and shortages of learning materials, raising concerns about the utilisation of funds meant to improve basic education.

4. The General Officer Commanding, 2 Division, Nigerian Army, Maj Gen Auwalu Mahmuda, on Wednesday visited troops deployed around Old Oyo National Park and urged them to sustain their operational tempo against criminal elements.
Mahmuda, who gave the advice at the Forward Operating Base in Igbeti, Olorunsogo Local Government Area of Oyo State, further urged the troops to effectively dominate the area by denying criminal elements freedom of action.

5. ‎Peter Obi, Presidential Candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, has vowed to take on those who manipulate elections, declaring that his camp will “rig those who rig” the 2027 polls. ‎Obi made the declaration on Wednesday at an NDC town hall meeting in Nasarawa State, where he outlined his plans to tackle electoral malpractice and ensure accountability if elected president.

6. An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court has sentenced Idris Ashimiyu to life imprisonment for defiling an 11-year-old girl. Justice Abiola Soladoye handed down the sentence on Wednesday after finding Ashimiyu guilty of a one-count charge of defilement. During arraignment, the convict had pleaded not guilty to the charge brought against him by the Lagos State Government

7. Transport and defence projects will take $13 billion of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s proposed $21.7 billion supplementary external borrowing for 2026-2027, the Federal Government said yesterday. Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, added that the proposed borrowing plan was designed to finance infrastructure and other investments that would create assets and wealth exceeding the cost of the loans

8. The leadership of the Trade Union Congress, TUC, on Wednesday rejected the proposed N70,000 transportation allowance for workers by the Federal Government. The Congress, which described the government’s plan as “haphazard measures” of cushioning the effects of fuel subsidy removal, demanded immediate salary increment for workers.

9. The African Democratic Congress has postponed its presidential campaign flag-off in Sokoto State, earlier scheduled for Saturday, October 31 to Wednesday, November 4, 2026. The postponement was announced in a statement issued by the ADC Presidential Campaign Council in Sokoto State, which attributed the decision to planning and coordination considerations.

10. The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has arrested a Deputy Superintendent of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Onoja Samuel, for allegedly firing shots into the air during a confrontation with traders at a market in the Kubwa area of Abuja. In a statement on Wednesday, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Josephine Adeh, said operatives attached to the Kubwa Police Division were promptly deployed to the scene and arrested the suspect after disarming him.