Upon the detention of the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, by the Nigerian government, while en route to the United Kingdom to attend an international workers’ gathering, the NLC has convened a closed-door meeting on the way out.

The Head of Public Relations, NLC, Benson Upah, made this known in an interview with our correspondent on Monday.

According to Upah, agents of the Nigerian State seized Ajaero without a legal warrant or formal instrument, and his whereabouts and health status are currently unknown.

The NLC has condemned the detention as a “brazen act of lawlessness and intimidation” and demanded Ajaero’s immediate and unconditional release.

“The Congress has also called on the international community, human rights organizations, and democracy advocates to take note of the rising wave of authoritarianism in Nigeria.”

Ajaero was set to address the Trade Union Congress in the UK on behalf of Nigerian workers, discussing critical issues like workers’ rights, social justice, and economic fairness.

Upah said, “The NLC has put its affiliates, state councils, and civil society allies on high alert and vowed to protect workers’ rights and not be cowed by oppressive tactics.

“The Congress is currently holding a closed-door meeting to discuss the situation, and the outcome will be made public soon.”

Details later…

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has seized consignments of cocaine and pharmaceutical opioids hidden in sanitary pads and hair treatment cream containers heading for the United Kingdom, Ireland and Cyprus.

Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, Femi Babafemi, made this known in a statement yesterday.

The statement reads: “Operatives equally intercepted another consignment of tramadol 225mg buried in granulated melon that came from Cameroon and was going to South Africa on Friday, September 6.

“No fewer than 550,000 pills of Tramadol were also intercepted at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Port Harcourt on Monday, September 2 during a joint examination of a cargo that came from Delhi, India, with men of the Nigerian Customs Service while a suspect was already arrested in connection with the seizure.

“In Ekiti State, NDLEA operatives supported by men of the Nigerian Army on September 3 and 4 stormed three camps inside the Ise-Ekiti forest reserve, in Ise/Orun Local Government Area where over 100,000 kilogrammes of cannabis spread across 51 hectares of farm land were destroyed. The affected settlements include Aba Saalaja with 23 hectares; Aba Paanu with 12 hectares and Aba Arogunmatidi with 16 hectares, all within the Ise-Ekiti forest reserve.

“Two suspects: Bala Musa, 42, and Danladi Muhammad, 44, were arrested on Friday, September along Toro-Jos road, Kaduna with 305kg cannabis concealed in false compartment of a J5 boxer bus marked YLA 682 XM, while another suspect, Aminu Ayuba, 24 was arrested in possession of 18 kilograms of same substance at Makarfi town.’

“Two others: Umar Usman, 40, and Zubairu Kabiru, 45, were arrested along Zaria- Kaduna highway in possession of 1300 tablets of tramadol, all the same day.’’

The spokesman continued: “In Jigawa State, Uzairu Ya’u, 30, was nabbed with 32.6kg of cannabis on September 5 at Koran Shehu, while operatives in Kogi on September 4 intercepted 77,300 pills of tramadol, diazepam and exol-5 as well as 1,230 bottles of codeine in a commercial bus driven by Attai Okolo, 68, along Aloma-Ejule road, Ofu Local Government Area, Kogi State. Another suspect, Mohammed Idris, 56, was nabbed along Okene-Lokoja-Abuja Expressway on September 3, with 42.400kg cannabis coming from Lagos enroute Kano.

“While NDLEA operatives in Borno State arrested Idris Muhammad, 40, at Ramat, Maiduguri on September 5 with 13,100 pills of tramadol, their counterparts in Kano on September 4 nabbed Hakilu Usman, 35, with 25.8kg cannabis and 3,000 pills of diazepam along Kano-Daura Road.

He added: “In Taraba, no fewer than 87,790 pills of tramadol were recovered from Musa Adamu, 30, when he was arrested in Zing, while in Osun state, a raid of the home of a drug kingpin, Mayowa Abayomi Awe (a.k.a Bishop) in Ilesa on September 4 led to the seizure of 43grammes of crack cocaine, 23 grammes of methamphetamine, 17.126kg cannabis and a locally made pistol.’’

The Ogun State Environmental Protection Agency has sealed five industries for environmental infractions.

The companies are Nixim Paper Limited, and Long Xiang Aluminum both at the Sagamu axis of the Lagos -Ibadan Expressway, New Shidai Manufacturing Limited, Mowe in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area and two unregistered companies operating illegally in the Ogere axis of the Lagos -Ibadan Expressway.

According to a statement on Sunday, the Chairman of the Ogun State Taskforce on Environmental Compliance and Enforcement who doubles as a Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Environment, Farook Akintunde, who led the enforcement team to seal the companies said they were shut down after the Environmental Protection Agency received petitions from the immediate communities of their incessant discharge of untreated wastewater into the environment.

“This was confirmed by OGEPA which issued a Stop Work Order for them to stop production and correct the anomaly.

“Instead of them to obey the order, they ignored it and continued to degrade the environment with the discharge of their harmful untreated wastewater into their immediate communities,” he said.

He added “The state government was therefore left with no options than to shut them down in the overriding public interest and compelled them to stop their harmful environmental practice as it was also discovered that they don’t have Effluent Treatment Plants ETP which they must have and installed to stop their incessant and harmful wastewater discharge”

Also speaking on their closure, the Special Adviser to the Governor on the Ogun State Environmental Protection Agency OGEPA, Dr Oluwadare Kehinde, said the company will now be forced after several warnings to abide by waste water regulations in the state which is crucial at preventing water pollution and maintaining water quality standard.

“OGEPA will not compromise on this as it will continue to demand from industries best environmental standard in all they do as enunciated in the Ogun State Green Book which contains the laws guiding environmental practices in the state,” Kehinde stated.

For the two unregistered companies sealed along with the three others, the Special Adviser said they must do proper registration with the state government and fulfill other operational obligations before they can be allowed to operate in the state.

Spokesman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Benson Upah, has warned that Nigerians could eventually buy petrol for N5,000 per litre.

Upah stated this while reacting to the recent hike in fuel pump price in an interview with Weekend Trust.

He also insisted that the increase is contrary to the agreement NLC reached with the President Bola Tinubu government.

According to Upah, subsidy was never restored as claimed by the Federal Government.

He said: “Subsidy was never restored at any point in time as they claimed.

“So, what will inform moving the pump price of PMS from N650 to N1,500 or N2,000?

“I want to tell you something, what this signals is that Nigerians have not seen the end yet, we may end up paying nothing less than N5,000 per liter for fuel in this country. We hope not to get there but if we get there, the decision will be left to Nigerians.”

The Edo State Government has announced an indefinite postponement of resumption of all schools in the state over the hike in fuel price.

The government announced this in a memo signed by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Ojo Akin-Longe, in Benin on Saturday.

The permanent secretary said the resumption, scheduled for September 9, was postponed until further notice.

“The Edo State Government hereby announces the postponement of the resumption of all public and private schools in Edo State, originally scheduled for Monday, 9th September 2024, until further notice.

“An official statement from the government has directed that schools remain closed due to the tension arising from the recent increase in fuel prices and the challenges faced by parents and guardians.

“The government urges parents, guardians, and caregivers to monitor the activities of their children and wards closely, given the current situation and the rising tension caused by the fuel price hike,” the memo read.

President Bola Tinubu has broken his silence on the increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol.

Tinubu ,who addressed Nigerians living in China on Friday, said the petrol price hike and other reforms by his administration are part of an overall strategy to set Nigeria on the path of economic growth.

“Nigeria is going through reforms, and we are taking very bold and unprecedented decisions. For example, you might have been hearing from home in the last few days about fuel prices,” presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, quoted Tinubu as saying.

“What is the critical part to get us there if we cannot take hard decisions to pave the way for a country that is blessed and so talented?

“The more you want everything free, it will become more expensive and long-delayed to achieve meaningful development.”

On Tuesday, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) hiked the pump price of petrol to N855 across its retail outlets amid long queues at filling stations.

The situation drew condemnation from many Nigerians and groups who asked the Federal Government to reverse the decision.

It come amid the scarcity of petrol as well as the worsening inflation that has subjected Nigerians to further hardship.

At the Beijing meeting, Tinubu defended the decision, saying hard decisions are crucial to economic prosperity.

“But, can we help it? Can we develop good roads like you have here? You see electricity being constant in quantity and quality. You see water supply, constant and running, and you see their good schools. And we say we want to hand over a banner without stain to our children?

“So many of you are so talented, speaking very fluent Mandarin. It is what you contribute and tell them at home that will reflect in the attitude of our people.”

The President stated that though it is not always easy to have a national consensus on issues, he is ready to take the hard decisions to move the nation forward.

Tinubu added that he is committed to replicating China’s infrastructure in Nigeria.

“One economic action leads to another, and it is in your hand to build our nation. Mine is to provide the leadership, and I am committed to doing just that. We are focused, and I have a very good team,” he added.