- Lagos water safe for consumption, says LWC
- FG to sell refined gold to CBN to boost foreign reserves
- National Assembly under pressure on new minimum wage law, compliance
We have highlighted the five most important developments in the news today, Monday, June 24, and present them below.
5 issues in the news that should matter to you today
1. Lagos water safe for consumption, says LWC: The Lagos Water Corporation has reassured residents that the state public water is safe for consumption because it conforms with the World Health Organisation’s standards. This was revealed on Saturday, June 22, by the Corporation’s Managing Director, Mukhtaar Tijani, through the Director of Operations, Helen Taiwo, at the Baruwa Community Engagement Forum. The LWC boss said, “The forum was aimed at enjoining the Baruwa Community and its environs to connect to safe water that conforms with World Health Organisation standards.
2. FG to sell refined gold to CBN to boost foreign reserves: The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, has said Nigeria’s refined gold will be sold to the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to bolster foreign reserves and meet the London Bullion Market Association Good Delivery Standard. The minister also commended President Bola Tinubu for supporting reforms in the solid minerals sector, assuring that the National Gold Purchase Programme would increase the country’s reserve and boost the naira’s value.
3. Naira sells 1,485/dollar as official forex market records $23bn: Forex turnover at the official foreign exchange market has increased to $23.29bn within over six months of trading following a flurry of reforms by the Central Bank of Nigeria, This was as the naira traded against the United States dollar between the rate of N980 and N1,500 per dollar between January and June. On Friday, June 21, the naira closed at N1,485 against the dollar at the close of trading activity.
4. Labour to governors on minimum wage: Retrieve Nigeria from state of resentment, misery: The Organised Labour has warned some governors not to plunge the country into a state of resentment, misery and impoverishment through wrong pieces of advice to President Bola Tinubu. It also reiterated that the position taken by President Tinubu on the two proposals before him from the final report of the Tripartite Committee on the National Minimum Wage would determine its next line of action. The Head of Information of the NLC, Comrade Benson Upah, said the two labour centres would subject whatever figure the President would submit to the National Assembly to the decision of the appropriate organs of the two labour centres.
5. National Assembly under pressure on new minimum wage law, compliance: Ahead of the resumption from the Sallah break in July, the two Chambers of the National Assembly are under immense pressure on how to deploy legislative powers to resolve the national minimum wage tussle and ensure compliance by all stakeholders.
The pressure became more pronounced following reports that the apex legislative body was contemplating sanctions against states that failed to comply with the minimum wage law that would be enacted soon. A major problem was how to ensure that states and the private sector complied with the figures contained in the minimum wage law.
Tinubu's administration reacts to New York Times report on Nigeria's economy
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that the report by the New York Times, which analysed Nigeria's dire socio-economic conditions, provoked Tinubu's government but impressed the citizens.
According to the report, Nigerians were experiencing the worst economic crisis in decades. Prices of food, medicine, and petrol were too high for many to afford, and the government made it difficult for businesses to operate.