News
ASUU Strike: Electricity and Rail Workers to Down Tools
Nigerians may be thrown into blackout and experience disruption in rail service nationwide in the coming days, if the Federal Government remains adamant towards the demands of the striking unions in the educational sector.
In separate statements, the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) and Nigeria Union of Railway Workers (NUR) stated that they were saddened and appalled by the lingering impasse between the Federal Government of Nigeria and unions in the tertiary education sector (universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and research institutes).
NUEE in its statement signed by the general secretary, Joe Ajaero, threatened to embark on a strike, if the deadlock, which has lasted several months continues.
According to the union, the industrial action is undoubtedly exposing the students to all forms of negative vices inimical to nation-building.
“The National Union of Electricity Employees, therefore, wishes to state that, if after the Nigeria Labour Congress’ nationwide protest, the current impasse between unions in the tertiary institutions and government is not conclusively addressed, we shall be forced to stay at home with our children. A stitch in time saves nine,” the union said.
NUEE charged government to address all issues concerning non-implementation of agreements and other matters affecting Nigeria’s tertiary education institutions.
It noted that a nation that is committed to human capital development does not toy with the education, training and manpower needs of its youth population.
“The laissez-faire attitude of the government whether in the states or national towards continued closure of schools is a sorry state in the process of our development towards nationhood.
“It is through education that this country Nigeria could be pulled out of the current doldrums and be positioned towards socio-economic and technological development of the next millennium,” the union said.
The Nigeria Union of Railway workers, on its part, said it strongly condemned the vapid and uninspiring attitude of the Federal Government to end the lingering faceoff between it and the unions of universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, and research institutions, especially on the government’s no-work-no-pay policy for the striking workers of universities and other tertiary institutions.
In a statement signed by NUR president-general, Innocent Luka Ajiji, and the general secretary, Segun Esan, the union appealed to the Federal Government to meet the legitimate charter of demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) with no further delay and save the nation’s education sector from total collapse.
“The Federal Government should be responsible enough to end the ongoing ASUU strike and rescue millions of Nigerian schooling youths who are majorly the children of the working class and poor masses from ruins and tempestuous engagements. The Federal Government should always remember that an idle hand is the devil’s workshop,” the union said.
According to the union, most importantly, government should adopt the preferred salary payment platform in place of IPPIS as proposed by the striking university lecturers and also do all that is necessary for the infrastructural development of the nation’s ivory towers.
Meanwhile, the railway workers said they may be compelled to embark on a total and indefinite strike any moment from now to challenge the insensitivity of the management and the board of Nigerian Railway Corporation to the welfare and wellbeing of the railway workers.
The statement read, “It is unfortunate and most disheartening that, almost eight months after the Nigerian Railway workers’ three-day nationwide warning strike of November 2021 was suspended and clear agreement reached between the union and the management, with January 2022 deadline for the management to provide answers to the charter of demands of the workers, no significant achievement has been made by the management so far to assuage the aggrieved workers till now.
“For instance, the standard condition of service, which was reviewed last in 1978 and on which the workers demanded a review for immediate application, has been kept in the cooler, unattended, after a review committee was inaugurated to work on it.
“The review committee worked inconclusively and, till now, there is no known standard condition of service in the rail transport industry. Similar to this, the approval of 95 per cent for salary enhancement has remained a nominal approval without any hope in sight as to when it will translate to cash for the workers.
“For the purpose of recollection, other workers’ welfare demands that led to the warning strike include non-payment of allowances; slavish use of the workers beyond the prescribed eight hours a day and 40 hours a week (weekends excluded) by the Public Service Rule; non-payment of workers’ salaries by IPPIS till the salaries are lost and unpaid; administrative delay in promotion procedures, which culminate in accumulation of promotion arrears and subsequent loss of same; serial ejection of workers from their staff quarters with unfulfilled promise to replace and allocate quarters to the affected staff accordingly; transferring workers from one location to another without adequate provision for their comfort and convenience; among many others.”
Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has awarded a total of N13 million in grants to three standout tech startups at the 2025 Techpreneur Summit held in Lagos, reinforcing its commitment to innovation and inclusive growth among Nigeria’s micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The winners include: BuyScrap, a digital marketplace for recyclable materials – N6 million; Qiqi Farms, which connects local farmers to hospitality and export markets – N4 million; Eco-Cyclers, a youth-led recycling initiative based in Enugu – N3 million
Alongside the grant awards, DBN also launched a new digital data asset, a first-of-its-kind platform aimed at enabling data-driven decisions within the MSME ecosystem.
The platform offers deep insights into business trends, sector-specific challenges, and growth opportunities—supporting smarter policymaking and targeted investments.
In his keynote address in Lagos, Tony Okpanachi, managing director/ CEO, DBN, described the event’s theme, “CTRL + SHIFT: Tech Empowered Movement for Naija,” as a strategic call to reimagine enterprise development in Nigeria.
“This isn’t just a keyboard shortcut,” he said. “It’s a mindset reset—powered by technology—to build a more inclusive, innovative, and resilient business landscape. From financing to innovation, DBN remains committed to enabling MSMEs to thrive.”
Okpanachi emphasized that the Summit aligns with DBN’s AMPLIFI Strategy, which integrates digital transformation, sustainability, and scalability into its core programs.
He highlighted initiatives such as the Digital Shift Workshops and the Eco-Innovation Challenge as key steps toward embedding innovation in Nigeria’s MSME sector.
Encouraging young innovators, he added: “The future belongs to those bold enough to imagine and build it. DBN is proud to support the ideas that will shape tomorrow.”
A major highlight was the unveiling of the DBN Data Asset—a digital platform designed to provide real-time, evidence-based insights into Nigeria’s MSME landscape.
The platform combines DBN’s proprietary data with external sources like the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to offer a comprehensive view of MSME performance by region and sector.
Jeremy Dan Okayi, DBN’s Head of Strategy, Policy & Innovation, described the platform as: “A reservoir of insight, potential, and direction—built on two years of collaboration and shared vision. This tool will support informed decision-making across the public and private sectors.”
News
FCCPC Shuts France, Belgium, and Italy Visa Centres in Abuja Over Alleged Consumer Rights Violations
In a bold enforcement action, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), supported by the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), has sealed off the visa application centres of France, Belgium, and Italy in Abuja over alleged consumer protection breaches and obstruction of regulatory investigations.
The affected centres—located at Mukhtar El-Yakub House in the Central Business District and operated by TLS Contact, a Teleperformance Company—were shut down following reports that they refused to accept formal correspondence from the FCCPC regarding a consumer complaint. The Commission cited further infractions, including obstruction of investigation and alleged assault of its officers during lawful duties.
Speaking to journalists at the scene, Mrs. Boladale Adeyinka, Director of Surveillance and Investigations at the FCCPC, explained: “This is an enforcement operation against TLS. On March 25, 2025, we served them a letter to address a consumer complaint, which they refused to accept. Instead, TLS officers assaulted our team, and in a subsequent visit on June 17, they also allegedly assaulted uniformed police officers.”
Citing Section 33 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA), Mrs. Adeyinka emphasized that failure to comply with Commission directives constitutes a criminal offense, punishable by imprisonment, fines of up to ₦20 million, or both.
TLS has been ordered to appear before the Commission on June 20, 2025, to provide testimony, submit evidence, and make formal depositions. The company may be held liable for any financial losses suffered by applicants due to the disruption of visa services.
Despite multiple requests for comment, management at TLS Contact declined to respond as of press time.
Adedapo Segun, chief financial officer (CFO), Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), has explained why there is a missing sum of N210 trillion in the company’s audited financial statement spanning from 2017 to 2023.
According to Segun, the missing funds are cash calls requested by joint venture (JV) partners and settlement to the JVs.
He spokeat a session of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts chaired by Aliyu Wadada.
Segun was responding to an alarm raised by the committee over missing N210 trillion in NNPCL’s audited financial statement.
Recall that Wadada issued a one-week ultimatum to NNPCL to account for the missing N210 trillion.
Reacting, Segun said, “The N103 trillion and N107 trillion are made up of joint venture cash calls that have been requested by the JV operators and JV cash call payments made by NNPCL, which are yet to be reconciled because governance procedures were not done at that time.
“That is why you see the description reflecting those two items would be washed out because they are two sides of the same transaction, which is the cash calls by JV partners and the settlement by NNPCL.”
However, Habu Sadeik, a financial analyst, in a post on X on Thursday, said Segun’s response was unsatisfactory.
Saidik faulted NNPCL’s response about the fund discrepancies, noting that something is not right with the audited financial statement.
“Forget about the senators’ lack of knowledge.
“The CFO’s response is not satisfactory. Are you saying that cash calls worth hundreds of trillions are just appearing on your FS only in 2024 without 31 disclosure?
“If it’s a cash call, why hasn’t the disclosure said so?
“Which cash call is over 100 trillion?
“Something is definitely not right, and I hope they retrospectively correct that FS.
“Someone somewhere did a chef’s work,” he wrote on X.
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