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Four aviation unions have backed the Organised Labour nationwide strike expected to commence on Monday.

The unions asked their members to withdraw services from all aerodromes nationwide indefinitely.

With this, airspace may not be open for operations from Monday.

This was confirmed to The PUNCH by the General Secretary of the National Union of Aviation Employees, Aba Ocheme.

He said, “Sure. Airports will not operate from Monday.”

The four aviation unions joining the strike are the National Union of Air Transport Employees, National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers, Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, and the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals.

A statement from the unions on Friday read, “As you are aware, the NLC and TUC have declared indefinite nationwide strike action with effect from Monday, September 28, 2020.

“Our unions as above named are in full support of the strike action.

“As such all workers in the aviation sector are hereby directed to withdraw their services at all aerodromes nationwide as from 00hrs of 28th September 2020 until otherwise communicated by the NLC/TUC or our unions. All workers shall comply.”

The meeting between the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, the Trade Union Congress, Nigeria Labour Congress and members of the Nigerian Governors Forum to avert the proposed strike slated for September 28, has just ended on an inconclusive note.

After much deliberations, both arms of Labour agreed that the meeting be adjourned till Monday next week to enable the Executives consult with their various organs.

But Ngige believes the meeting was successful and that the strike would be averted.

He told reporters shortly after Thursday’s meeting which held at the Banquet Hall of the State House that government has agreed to a proposal to make provision for palliatives to cushion the effects of the increment in fuel and electricity hike.

Ngige said: “Fruitful meeting. They are going back to their organs. When they consult their organs tomorrow, next tomorrow maybe they will take a new decision.

“We have requested them to shelve the strike. We have appealed to them to shelve the strike.”

“The government side agreed proposals with them on the palliative to cushion the effect of the rise in petroleum products and electricity.”

“The meeting agreed to adjourn to Monday, 3pm we had a fruitful discussion”.

Recall that Labour had settled for an industrial action on September 28,2020 after ratification by the National Executive Council.

While faulting the timing of the increment, they had requested the government to fix the ailing refineries so as to reduce the burden of importation on the country.

They had also bemoaned that the recent increases were ploys to erode the gains of the N30,000 minimum wage recently approved by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The supporters of Governor Godwin Obaseki of the Edo State, on Monday, took their victory dance to the streets of Benin City, the state capital, and other parts of the state to celebrate their victory in the September 19 governorship election.

The supporters, in their thousands, were seen on Sokponba Road, in Oredo Local Government Area; 3rd Junction; St. Saviour Road in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area and the city centre, King’s Square.

Another group was seen proceeding to the Government House in the Government Reservation Area, where they joined the governor, his deputy, Comrade Philip Shaibu, the First Lady, Betsy and other government officials as well as leaders of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in a party.

Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai on Monday suggested he was surprised at the loss of the All Progressive Congress in the recently concluded Edo State Governorship Election.

The Governor said three weeks to the election, polls indicated that the APC was set to win.

However, on Sunday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared incumbent Godwin Obaseki of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the election and Governor of the state for the next four years.

“We would have loved to win,” El-Rufai said, during an interview on Sunrise Daily. “Quite frankly I was optimistic.

“Up to three weeks ago, the polls indicated that we were going to win. I don’t know what happened in the last two, three weeks of the campaign.

“As you know, a large number of voters make up their minds in the last two weeks of election. Many voters decide, no matter what happens, this is how I am voting. But most people want to wait and watch and make up their minds in the last two weeks.

“Three weeks ago, the polls clearly showed that APC was going to win, but the results came out differently from what we expected.”

However, El-Rufai commended how the election played out and commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his policy of non-interference in elections.

“The election was reasonably decent,” he said. “We were all worried about violence; there was very little violence or none at all. So Obaseki has won, that’s it. You can’t go into an election without adverting your mind to the possibility of losing.

“And one thing President Muhammadu Buhari’s government has always done is to say that there must be free and fair election and the people’s choice must prevail.

“And the President has never used what is called Federal Might that other governments have used in the past to steal elections. We always insist that everyone should go and pitch to the people and may the best man win. And we can live with it.”

President Muhammadu Buhari unveils Nigeria@60 logo at virtual FEC meeting @NGRPresident @NigeriaGov @ProfOsinbajo

The Federal Government has declared Sept. 16 as National Identity Day and has supported the enrolment of Nigerians for Digital Identity (ID) across the country.

Dr Isa Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, said this in a statement signed by Mrs Uwa Suleiman, his spokesperson on Tuesday, in Abuja.

Pantami reminded Nigerians of the importance of digital identity, adding that the ministry was developing the right policy environment to support enrolment for digital IDs in the country.

He said that the celebration of the National Identity Day would take place virtually, adding that digital IDs play critical roles in the development of digital economies, as they were often called the fabrics of the digital economies.

Pantami also stressed that the importance of a digital identity programme for the successful development of a digital economy cannot be overstated.

“The Sept. 16, has been declared as the National Identity Day. Following the approval of the federal government under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria also formally adopted 16.9 as the National Identity Day.

“This year’s edition of the National Identity Day will take place virtually on the same date and will have the theme: Identity for Health, Sustainable Development and Growth.

“We will start by capturing Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Nigeria and will also support the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and other stakeholders to ensure that we make the process of obtaining digital identities swift and secure.

“One of the key objectives of pillar 6 (Soft Infrastructure) of National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) is support for the accelerated implementation of a Digital Identity Programme,” he said.

He said that the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa rightly noted that Digital Identity and the digital economy were not only linked, but reinforcing as digital ID was the basis for digital economy platforms.

He explained that digital identification can be an important catalyst for various development initiatives in the continent such as impacting on trade, governance, social protection, financial inclusion, domestic resource mobilisation, as well as security and human rights.

As the world and Nigeria mark the International Identity Day and National Identity Day, accordingly, Pantami urged Nigerians to support the development the digital economy by embracing the use of digital identities.

He encouraged Nigerians to visit NIMC accredited centres for their digital identities.

That minister said that his ministry is committed to ensuring that Nigeria derives the benefits of a functional digital ID system and calls on all stakeholders to support the process.

The police in Ogun State said they have arrested two herdsmen, for allegedly robbing and defiling a teenager.

The suspects were identified by the police as Abu Adamu and Muhammadu Aliyu.

A statement by DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, the State Police Public Relations Officer, on Sunday, revealed that the suspects were arrested after a distress call received by the police at Ewekoro Divisional Headquarters at about 1am.

Oyeyemi said the armed herdsmen had invaded a farm settlement at Afowowa Gbelu village in Ewekoro, attacking a family residing in the farm settlement.

According to him, the suspects ransacked the house of one Aminat Okeshola and made away with cash of N140,000.

After this, they were said to have taken a 16-year-old daughter of the family to the cassava plantation and took turns to defile her.

DAILY POST learnt that policemen from Ewekoro division went to the farm settlement, combed the entire area and arrested two of the suspects who hid in a nearby bush at the sight of the policemen. The third suspect with them reportedly escaped.

“The two arrested suspects were immediately identified by the victims,” Oyeyemi said.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the herdsmen have always been passing through the farm settlement with their cattle in the day time before they came back to strike on the fateful day,” he said.

The Commissioner of Police, Edward Ajogun, DAILY POST reports, has ordered that the fleeing member of the gang be hunted and the case be transferred to the State CIID for investigation and prosecution.

Iran has executed a wrestler accused of murder, state media report, defying international appeals for him to be spared.

Navid Afkari, 27, was sentenced to death over the murder of a security guard during a wave of anti-government protests in 2018.

He said he had been tortured into making a confession.

A union representing 85,000 athletes worldwide was among those to call for a stay of execution.

The World Players Association said he had been "unjustly targeted" for taking part in the protests, and called for Iran's expulsion from world sport if it went ahead with the execution.

US President Donald Trump also appealed for mercy, saying the wrestler's "sole act was an anti-government demonstration on the streets".

Afkari was executed by hanging in the southern city of Shiraz, state media report.

His brothers Vahid and Habib were sentenced to 54 and 27 years in prison in the same case, according to human rights activists in Iran.

In an audio recording leaked from the prison where he is being held, Afkari said he had been tortured. His mother said her sons were forced to testify against each other.

The brothers' lawyer, Hassan Younesi, said on Twitter that contrary to Iranian news reports, there was no video of the moment of the security guard's killing. He added that footage used as evidence in the case was taken an hour before the crime took place.

The Iranian authorities have denied accusations of torture.

Afkari was a national champion in wrestling, a sport that has a long history and is hugely popular in Iran.

In 2018, protesters in cities across Iran took to the streets over economic hardship and political repression.

Nigeria’s debt rises by N2.3trn, hits N31trn – DMO

The Debt Management Office on Wednesday released Nigeria’s total public debt stock as of June 30, 2020, and put the country’s entire debt at N31trn, indicating an increase of N2.38trn within a space of three months.

Nigeria’s total public debt stock includes the debt stock of the Federal Government, the 36 states, and the Federal Capital Territory.

Just as the country’s public debt stock, the DMO also released reports on Nigeria’s Actual External Debt Service Payments in Second Quarter, 2020, as well as Nigeria’s External Debt Stock as of June 30, 2020.

For the country’s public debt stock as of June 30, 2020, the DMO said, “The data shows that in naira terms, the total public debt stock which comprises the debt stock of the Federal Government, the 36 state governments and the FCT stood at N31.009trn or $85.897bn.

“The corresponding figures for March 31, 2020, were N28.628trn or $79.303bn.”

The debt office explained that the increase in the debt stock by N2.381trn or $6.593bn was accounted for by the $3.36bn budget support loan from the International Monetary Fund, new domestic borrowing to finance the revised 2020 Appropriation Act.

It said this includes the issuance of the N162.557bn Sukuk, and promissory notes issued to settle claims of exporters.

The debt office added, “The DMO expects the public debt stock to grow as the balance of the new domestic borrowing is raised and expected disbursements are made by the World Bank, African Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank which were arranged to finance the 2020 Budget.