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Hardship: Civil servants write Tinubu, demand N500 pump price, wage award
Posted on 21-09-2026
As seen on vanguard news today, civil servants under the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council, JNPSNC, Trade Union Side, have written to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, demanding an urgent intervention to address the worsening economic hardship facing workers and their dependents.
The workers called on the Federal Government to stabilize the price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, at N500 per liter, approve an immediate Wage Award and upwardly review salaries and allowances across the public service.
They also demanded the immediate constitution of a committee to negotiate a new National Minimum Wage ahead of January 2027.
In a letter addressed to the President at the State House, Abuja, the workers said the recent increase in fuel prices to N1,430 per litre and above in some locations had further worsened the cost-of-living crisis.
They gave the Federal Government until Wednesday, September 30, 2026, to take action on their demands, warning that the prevailing hardship was creating palpable tension among workers and Nigerians.
The JNPSNC said the removal of fuel subsidy three years ago had triggered an astronomical increase in fuel prices and produced multiplier effects on the prices of essential commodities across the economy.
The council said the situation had made life increasingly unbearable for workers, adding that the provision of food palliatives was not a sustainable solution to the economic crisis.
It said: “It has dawned on Nigerian workers that the provision of palliatives such as bags of rice, Indomie, vegetable oil, garri, among other edible foods, is as good as weaponising Nigerians with poverty because it is a Pyrrhic intervention which is unsustainable, inaccessible to the majority of Nigeria’s population and also limited to political cronies.”
The workers argued that a more sustainable intervention would be to reduce the cost of fuel to N500 per litre, saying the measure would have a multiplier effect across the economy.
“Consequent upon the above, it is preferable that the Federal Government should provide an intervention that will trickle down to all Nigerians by making fuel available at an affordable amount as low as N500 (five hundred Naira), the amount at which fuel was being sold when the subsidy was first removed in the year 2023,” they said.
The council identified the restoration of workers’ purchasing power, improved productivity and service delivery, promotion of integrity and accountability, and the reinforcement of trust and industrial peace as major reasons for its demand for improved remuneration.
On fuel prices, the workers said the government should “look inward and stabilize the prices of fuel to an affordable minimum,” arguing that fuel remained an essential commodity with significant implications for the Nigerian economy.
“As a matter of reality, the current hardship being faced by the hapless Nigerian workers is caused by the astronomical increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to as much as N1,430.00, or more per one litre (this is a killing amount),” the council stated.
The JNPSNC further called for an intervention fund for stakeholders in the oil sector to stabilize fuel prices and eventually bring the pump price down to N500 per liter.
The council said the government could adopt another description for the intervention if the term “fuel subsidy” was considered unacceptable.
“The fuel intervention fund will give the opportunity to every Nigerian to benefit from the intervention fund because it will have multiplier effect in the life of every Nigerian and will naturally trickle down to the downtrodden and all the remotest parts of the country,” it said.
The council also endorsed a position attributed to Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Joe Ajaero, on measures to address the fuel crisis.
Ajaero was quoted as saying: “Nigeria as an oil-producing country we have sufficient local refining capacity even as this substantially resides with the private sector.”
He also said: “As a nation, and as a people endowed with enormous fossil resources, we are deserving of a certain level of protection or buffer against the gales from the Gulf, and indeed, other gales.”
751 Nigerian passports delivered in Qatar within two weeks
Posted on 21-09-2026
The Nigerian Embassy in Doha, Qatar, has delivered 751 newly produced passports to Nigerian applicants following a passport intervention exercise held from August 11 to 21.
The development, which the embassy described as a milestone in service delivery, saw the distribution of the passports begin on September 18, about two weeks after the completion of the applicants’ biometric capture.
Of the 751 applicants attended to during the exercise, 441 applied for five-year passports, while 310 applied for 10-year passports, as seen on vanguard news today.
Nigerian Ambassador to Qatar, Mahmood Yakubu, told The Peninsula that the swift turnaround reflected the embassy’s commitment to improving services for Nigerians in the country.
“This is a significant milestone for our Embassy and, most importantly, for Nigerians living in Qatar. The fact that passports are now being completed and returned within about two weeks of capture demonstrates our commitment to improving service delivery and responding to the needs of our community,” Yakubu said.
He said the embassy recognised the importance of passports to Nigerians for international travel, employment, residency and other official requirements.
“We will continue to work to ensure that Nigerians receive the services they need in a timely and transparent manner,” he added.
Passport intervention exercises are organised by the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, to address backlogs involving fresh applications, renewals and other pending passport cases.
The NIS has also said more than 5,000 applicants have enrolled in an ongoing passport intervention exercise in the United Kingdom.
Some lawmakers say Trump should confront Xi over Chinese support for Iran
Posted on 21-09-2026
The U.S. says Chinese companies have shared wartime satellite imagery with Iran. A group of Democratic lawmakers on Monday wrote a letter to the White House urging President Donald Trump to challenge Chinese President Xi Jinping when they meet later this week over support they allege Beijing has given to Tehran in the Iran war.
Trump and Xi are set to meet Wednesday in Washington in their second summit since the war broke out in February. The Democrats, who are all veterans of the armed services, cited a Sept. 11 Wall Street Journal report that a U.S. assessment found that a Chinese company's provision of satellite imagery supported an Iranian strike on an airbase in Jordan in July. Three U.S. soldiers died in the attack.
"Our servicemembers are paying the price in blood for this administration's pathetic refusal to confront Beijing," Reps. Pat Ryan, Seth Moulton, Ted Lieu, Chrissy Houlahan, Jason Crow and eight other Democrats wrote in the letter, which they shared with ABC News.
Trump "has an important opportunity to condemn China's role in arming and enabling Iran, and to demand an end to their support," the lawmakers added
Navy disclaims circulating 2026 recruitment notice
Posted on 21-09-2026
The Nigerian Navy has disowned a recruitment notice circulating on social media, purportedly announcing the Nigerian Navy Recruitment 2026 Batch 39 exercise. by Kingsle Obi. The Navy described the notice as unofficial and urged prospective applicants and members of the public to disregard recruitment information obtained from unauthorised sources.
Director of Information, Nigerian Navy, Navy Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.
He said the circulating notice was “not an authorised publication” and should not be regarded as an official recruitment announcement.
The Navy advised prospective applicants to exercise caution and rely only on information published through its authorised communication channels.
According to Folorunsho, official information on Nigerian Navy recruitment, including eligibility requirements, application procedures, timelines and categories, would be communicated only through authorised Navy channels.
He identified the official Nigerian Navy recruitment website as joinnigeriannavy.navy.mil.ng, while navy.mil.ng remains the service’s official website.
The Navy also warned members of the public against making payments to individuals, agents or unauthorised platforms in connection with recruitment, stressing that the exercise is free of charge.
“The Nigerian Navy does not authorise third parties to recruit applicants or collect recruitment fees on its behalf,” Folorunsho said. He assured the public that the Navy remained committed to maintaining a transparent and credible recruitment process and would continue to provide timely and accurate information through its official communication channels.
IPOB accuses Enugu govt of attacking opposition, insists election boycott stands
Posted on 21-09-2026
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has accused the Enugu State Government of allowing political violence against opposition groups in the state, insisting that its planned boycott of the forthcoming elections remains unchanged.
The group, through the Head of its Directorate of State (DOS), Mazi Chris Nwaọgụ, in a statement alleged that opposition meetings and rallies, particularly in Nkanu West, had been attacked by suspected thugs.
Nwaọgụ claimed that some persons were injured while canopies, chairs and other property were destroyed during the attacks. “What is happening in Enugu is unacceptable. Governor Peter Mbah’s political space has become a theatre of thugs disrupting rallies and ward meetings of opponents,” he said.
“Opposition gatherings in Nkanu West have been invaded. People have been shot. Canopies and chairs have been destroyed.”
He alleged that the police had confirmed the attacks, while the All Progressives Congress (APC) denied responsibility. “The police confirm the attacks. The APC denies everything. The pattern is what matters,” he said.
IPOB, however, distanced itself from the violence, warning that its election boycott should not be used as a justification for attacks on political gatherings.
“IPOB is against every form of violence. A boycott is not a licence to disrupt rallies. A boycott is not a licence to unleash thugs,” Nwaọgụ said.
The group also reaffirmed its decision to boycott the forthcoming elections, linking the position to the continued detention and legal proceedings involving its leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
“The boycott is not a threat. It is a promise,” Nwaọgụ declared.
He called on the Federal Government to ensure that Kanu’s appeal is listed and heard, saying the group would maintain its boycott if the matter was not addressed.
“Anybody who wants it called off should stop talking to IPOB and talk to the APC government. Tell them to list and hear Onyendu’s appeal. Time is going,” he said.
He warned members and supporters against violence, urging them to remain disciplined. “Stay disciplined. Do not give them the riot they are praying for,” he said.
Nwaọgụ also reacted to the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna, Niger State.
He questioned the circumstances surrounding the deaths and linked the incident to IPOB’s concerns over Kanu’s continued detention.
“If this is how they treat boys accused of digging for gold, do not ask us why we refuse to trust them with Onyendu, or with our missing sons in the East,” he said.
The IPOB official further referred to alleged international interventions over Kanu’s detention, including a purported letter by Israeli Knesset member MK Afef Abed to United Nations officials.
He also cited previous interventions by United States Congressman John James and developments in Catalonia as part of the group’s campaign for Kanu’s release.
Nwaọgụ said IPOB would continue providing legal and welfare support to members detained or injured in connection with the separatist movement.
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