Good morning! Nigerian Newspapers Headlines: FG approves N70,000 monthly transport allowance for workers

1. The Federal Government has approved a N70,000 monthly transport allowance for public servants for six months, beginning in November, to cushion the impact of rising living costs.

The approval was one of the resolutions reached at a conciliation meeting between the Federal Government and the Nigeria Labour Congress in Abuja on Tuesday, following renewed pressure from organised labour over workers’ welfare, the rising cost of living and outstanding agreements.

2. State Police has virtually become a reality. The only steps remaining are the collation of state endorsements and the transmission of the Bill by the National Assembly to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for assent. As at last count yesterday, 30 Houses of Assembly have concurred with the amendment of the Constitution to pave the way for State Police.

3. The wife of slain Katsina Islamic cleric, Sheikh Yahaya Ibrahim Masussuka, has recounted how gunmen killed her husband in Dutsin-Ma Local Government Area of the state on Monday evening.
Hajiya Fatima Masussuka, who spoke with journalists at their residence in Dutsin-Ma on Tuesday, said the assailants attacked shortly after her husband left home to attend a teaching session with his Almajirai (Islamic pupils).

4. The Lagos State Government has given residents until December 31, 2026, to obtain health insurance, with enforcement of the mandatory coverage policy commencing on January 1, 2027. The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, stated this on Tuesday while flagging off the enforcement of mandatory health insurance under Executive Order EO/BOS/01 of 2024.

5. The independent ministerial committee probing the deaths of miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, in Niger State has recommended the dismissal of the State Commandant and other personnel found culpable in the incident. This is one of the recommendations presented by the committee’s chairman, Jonathan Kure, in the report to the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, in Abuja on Tuesday.

6. The Federal Government and the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, have reached an agreement on a series of measures to ease the economic difficulties facing workers, including a N70,000 transport intervention and the payment of 19 months’ arrears owed health workers. The resolutions were reached at a conciliation meeting held at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment yesterday, following an earlier meeting convened on October 22.

7. A Federal High Court in Lagos has nullified the Independent National Electoral Commission’s publication of Ibrahim Lukman as the Nigeria Democratic Congress candidate for Oshodi/Isolo Federal Constituency I in the 2027 general election, The PUNCH reports. In a judgment delivered on October 20, Justice Akintayo Aluko ruled that Lukman did not participate in the party’s primary election and held that INEC acted in breach of the Electoral Act 2026 by publishing Lukman’s name despite monitoring the May 29 primary at which Olumuyiwa Owadara emerged winner.

8. Five people lost their lives on Monday when a vehicle in the convoy of Gov. Mohammed Bago rammed into another vehicle, resulting in multiple fatalities. PUNCH Metro learnt on Tuesday that the accident, which occurred at Gidan Mangoro in Minna, involved a Toyota Hilux conveying the Director-General of the Government House, Mr Dauda Chikuba, and another vehicle conveying five students of the Federal University of Technology.

9. The Rainbow Coalition led by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has unveiled its preferred candidates for the 2027 general elections in Rivers State, drawing from the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party. The candidates were unveiled at a ceremony held at the Yakubu Gowon Stadium in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, October 27, as the coalition seeks to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election.

10. Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has concluded its landmark Initial Public Offering (IPO).
It attracted investor applications from 120 countries across all six continents, including Africa’s 54 countries. This is seen as an unprecedented demonstration of the continent’s capacity to mobilise capital and broaden ownership of strategic industrial assets

The ten-member independent committee set up by the Federal Government to investigate the cause of deaths of the 37 suspected illegal miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna, Niger state, has blamed extreme heat and congestion their deaths.

The committee found that the miners died from asphyxiation, a condition in which the body is deprived of adequate oxygen, potentially leading to unconsciousness, organ damage or death.

Chairman of the committee, Jonathan Kure, spoke on Tuesday while presenting the panel’s report to Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, minister of interior, in Abuja.

The Federal Government constituted the committee on September 19 following a directive by President Bola Tinubu for a “full and transparent” investigation into the deaths of the suspected illegal miners.

Tunji-Ojo announced the decision in a statement in which he listed the names of the 21 officers suspended in connection with the incident.

The NSCDC said the suspects were arrested during operations conducted on September 15 and 16 around Mohammed Inuwa Wushishi Estate in Minna, the Niger state capital.

In a statement, Suberu Aniviye, the NSCDC commandant in Niger state, said “scores of the detained suspects were found dead in the early hours of Thursday following a suspected outbreak of disease”.

Following the development, the Federal Government suspended the Niger state NSCDC commandant and ordered a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

However, on October 6, the panel requested a two-week extension to submit its report on the matter.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, Kure said the panel travelled to Minna and inspected the custody facility, conducted autopsies, took witness statements from NSCDC personnel, survivors, families and other witnesses, and collected documentary and forensic evidence.

He noted that preliminary findings showed institutional gaps and overzealousness on the part of some officers, adding that greater professionalism was required in handling such sensitive cases.

Ahead of the 2027 general election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has uploaded the preliminary voter register to its online platform following calls for broader public access.

Mohammed Haruna, chairman of INEC’s information and voter education committee, in a statement issued on Monday, said the preliminary register of voters displayed between October 9 and 15 will be updated.

“In accordance with section 19 of the Electoral Act, 2026, the commission conducted the physical display of the register at registration areas nationwide from 9th to 15th October, 2026, providing registered voters the opportunity to inspect their particulars and submit claims and objections as prescribed by law,” he said.

Haruna added that the online publication followed the physical display of the preliminary register at registration areas nationwide, in line with Section 19 of the Electoral Act 2026.

The chairman of the information and voter education committee said the online publication would complement the physical exercise and provide wider access to the register.

“Accordingly, and in furtherance of its commitment to transparency, accessibility and public confidence in the electoral process, the commission has decided to make available on its online platform https://display.inecnigeria.org the same preliminary register of voters earlier displayed at the registration areas, ” Haruna said.

“This additional measure complements the physical display already undertaken and is intended to facilitate wider public access to the register.

“Meanwhile, the commission continues to process claims and objections arising from the exercise in accordance with the Electoral Act, 2026, preparatory to the certification and publication of the final register of voters on 15th December 2026.”

He reiterated the commission’s commitment to transparency, accountability and implementation of the Electoral Act 2026.