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Minimum Wage: NYSC Members to Receive N30, 000 Monthly Allowance
The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, says the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members will earn the new minimum wage of N30,000 as allowance.
According to a report on Friday by The Nation newspaper, Mrs Ahmed disclosed this while speaking to journalists on Thursday in Abuja.
According to the minister, the ministry has verified N649.434 billion as the outstanding balance to be refunded to state governments.
“NYSC allowance also has to increase to N30,000. So, I cannot give you projections right now because the negotiations are not yet concluded.”
“Apart from the increase of the minimum wage from N18,000 to N30,000, there is also a consequential adjustment that we have to negotiate with the labour unions,” she said.
“The other aspect that should be clear is that there is an increase for the NYSC as well because NYSC, by its Act, is designed that they earn the minimum wage.”
On April 25, the NYSC former Director-General, Suleiman Kazaure, debunked a rumour that government had raised corps members’ monthly stipend to N31,800.
The one-year compulsory scheme was established in 1973 by former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, after the Nigerian civil war in 1973 in a bid to reconstruct, reconcile and rebuild the country.
It was designed for young graduates within the country and in the diaspora, between the ages of 18 and 30 for national service.
The administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011 increased the stipend from N7,500 to N19,800.
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Donald Trump Sworn in As 47th American President, Pledges Swift Border Crackdown
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Hamas Releases Israeli Hostages As Ceasefire Agreement Comes into Effect
The first hostages freed from Gaza under a long-awaited ceasefire agreement are back in Israel. The news sparked jubilant scenes in Tel Aviv where large crowds gathered ahead of their release.
The three freed Israeli hostages – the first of 33 to be released over the next six weeks – are Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari. They are said to be in good health and are receiving treatment at a medical center in Tel Aviv.
In exchange, 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are set to be released by Israel from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military withdrew from several locations in southern and northern Gaza after the truce began earlier on Sunday, an Israeli military official told CNN.
Displaced Gazans have started returning to their homes, while the aid trucks laden with much-needed supplies have crossed into Gaza. Here’s what we know about how the ceasefire deal will work.
Hamas, despite suffering devastating losses, is framing the Gaza ceasefire agreement as a victory for itself, and a failure for Israel.
One of Hamas’ main goals for taking some 250 people during its brazen October 7, 2023, attack on Israel was to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. As Israel pounded Gaza in response, Hamas vowed not to return the hostages until Israel withdrew its forces from the enclave, permanently ended the war, and allowed for rebuilding.
Source: CNN
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Again, Kemi Badenoch Lashes Out at Nigeria Says Country’s ‘Dream Killer’
The leader of UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has said she doesn’t want Britain to be like Nigeria that is plagued by “terrible governments.”
Speaking on Thursday at an event organised by Onward, a British think tank producing research on economic and social issues, Badenoch expressed fears that Britain may become like Nigeria if the system is not reformed.
“And why does this matter so much to me? It’s because I know what it is like to have something and then to lose it,” Badenoch told the audience.
“I don’t want Britain to lose what it has.
“I grew up in a poor country and watched my relatively wealthy family become poorer and poorer, despite working harder and harder as their money disappeared with inflation.
“I came back to the UK aged 16 with my father’s last £100 in the hope of a better life.
“So I have lived with the consequences of terrible governments that destroy lives, and I never, ever want it to happen here.”
Badenoch has been in the news of late after she dissociated herself from Nigeria, saying she has nothing to do with the Islamic northern region.
She also accused the Nigeria Police of robbing citizens instead of protecting them.
She said: “My experience with the Nigeria Police was very negative. Coming to the UK, my experience with the British Police was very positive.
“The police in Nigeria will rob us (laughter). When people say I have this bad experience with the police because I’m black, I say well…I remember the police stole my brother’s shoe and his watch.”