Episode 71
Nigeria Update– Stranded Students & more –4th May 2023
Egypt has finally opened up its borders for Nigerian students fleeing from Sudan, NAFDAC begins investigations on Indomie noodles, Ayra Starr misses US concerts, redesigned notes, Lagos to start using electric buses, and so much more…
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Transcript
We begin with an update about the stranded students in war-torn Sudan.
On Monday the 1st, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (best known as NIDCOM), said that Egypt has finally opened its border for Nigerian students. Dabiri-Erewa said that the border was opened after President Buhari spoke with Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the Egyptian president, and that the passage was granted under strict conditions. But she did not give details on the conditions. The NIDCOM chairperson’s statement came a few hours after the commission said that Egypt’s borders were still closed despite the arrival of the Nigerian Air Force in the northern African country to airlift the stranded students. Recall that NIDCOM said that the first batch of students would be expected last Friday barring any unforeseen circumstances.
Moving on, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (best known as NAFDAC) said that it would investigate allegations of a cancer-causing chemical found in Indomie noodles. Last week, health officials in Malaysia and Taiwan said they had detected ethylene oxide in Indomie’s special chicken flavor noodles. Ethylene oxide is a colorless, odorless gas that is used to sterilise medical equipment and plastics. The countries said that they took enforcement actions by recalling the product from shelves. Although Indofood, makers of the noodles, said that the product was made in compliance with international food safety regulations, NAFDAC said that it would begin to test random samples alongside other brands from Tuesday the 2nd. The agency said that although Indomie was given a license to produce in Nigeria, the noodles had been banned from importation and that it would tighten measures to see that there was no smuggling. NAFDAC also said that the imported noodles were not registered by the agency.
Now we know this may be sad for many citizens because Nigeria is one of the largest consumers of the noodles globally but this just calls to be more careful and wait for feedback from NAFDAC.
Workers Day was on Monday the 1st and we wish every worker the best! In that regard, we’ve got some labor news for you.
The Organized Labor, which is an association of the Nigeria Labor Congress, the Trade Union Congress, and other affiliate unions, have demanded a reassessment of the retirement age for public workers from sixty to sixty-five years. The union made the call on Monday the 1st and also called for a review of the service years from thirty-five to forty years. What age do you think should be the retirement benchmark? We’d love to hear from you!
to pay the salary arrears of:Reacting on Monday the 1st, Chris Ngige, minister of labor and employment, said the doctors’ demands were absurd. Ngige said that the demands demonstrate an “entitlement syndrome” and added that the government has given resident doctors “everything they want”. He asked the doctors to leave the country if they were not satisfied and that the government would figure out the next steps.
Meanwhile, on Monday the 1st, Bola Tinubu, the president-elect, said that he would always fight for workers and that they will have “more than minimum wage”. He called for better understanding and cooperation, noting that “tough decisions” will be made in the days ahead but that they will be for the good of all Nigerians. At the moment the minimum wage in Nigeria is 30,000 naira (about 65 dollars) but the government said it would be increased to 40,000 naira (about 87 dollars).
Let’s move on! On Sunday the 30th, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, announced that the state will put to the test the first set of electric buses for public transportation. Sanwo-Olu said that the vehicles will reduce carbon emissions and increase efficiency. The governor said that a pilot scheme will run over the next few months to gather sufficient data required to analyze the current buses
that the agency had, between:In the power sector, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (best known as TCN) said that it will reconnect three electricity distribution companies (or DisCos) which were earlier disconnected from the power grid over non-compliance with market rules.
In a statement on Sunday the 30th, Edmund Eje, TCN’s market operator, said that the reconnection followed the intervention of Abubakar Aliyu, the minister of power, who considered the collateral consequences on the paying customers. Eje said that the minister’s intervention has automatically prolonged the grace period of the defaulters to sixty days from the announcement and asked defaulters to comply with the provisions of the market rules. The demands are that the DisCos pay their outstanding invoices, post adequate bank guarantees, and forward their active power purchase agreements to TCN. The affected groups are Aba Power Limited, Kano and Kaduna DisCos.
Over to business! The Central Bank of Nigeria (or CBN) said that it is not contemplating the withdrawal of the recently redesigned naira notes. Reports had emerged that the bank may phase out the new notes over scarcity. However, on Sunday the 30th, the CBN said that the speculations were unfounded. The bank said that the new and old currency notes “have been circulating side by side just as the bank has been taking delivery of a good quantity of the redesigned bank notes from the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Limited”. The CBN added that it remained committed to supplying the approved bills for the smooth running of the economy.
Meanwhile, in the entertainment world, Ayra Starr missed her three-city US show over ill health. The music star was supposed to headline the Industry Night Show in Houston on Sunday the 30th. She was also to perform at the Something In The Water concert in Virginia City. The show was to feature ASAP Rocky, Busta Rhymes, and other US stars. However, Ayra Starr said her doctor had placed her on immediate bed rest and apologized to fans. The singer reassured the public that she wants to make a special comeback when she recovers.
Aaaand that's it for this week! Remember We have a Mastodon account! Check out our instance rorshok.social. If you don't know what Mastodon is or want to know more about it, check out the link in the show notes to our Substack.
O dabo!
