• Lagos tribunal affirms Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s gubernatorial victory , throws out Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour petition
• The federal government declares Wednesday 27th, a public holiday
• Taraba State government introduces training in E-governance to civil servants
• Lalong pleads with NLC not to strike, “I’ve met one of your demands.”
• The President of ASUU claims 40 to 50 per cent of Nigerian students will drop out in two years due to fee hike

Across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, these are the five top Nigerian news stories you shouldn’t miss.

The tribunal validates Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s victory, throws out Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour petition

The Lagos State gubernatorial petition tribunal has confirmed that Babajide Sanwo-Olu won the election against Gbadebo due to the lack of merit of the petitioner.

On Monday, 25, the Tribunal dismissed the Labour Party’s (LP) petition, which its gubernatorial candidate, Gbadebo, had requested in defending his results and the corrupt electoral violence witnessed in some parts of Lagos.

Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour had demanded that the court nullify the governor’s election based on the non-qualification and corrupt acts that went against the Electoral Act of 2022.

Unfortunately for the LP candidate, the tribunal has ruled in favour of Babajide Sanwo-Olu, naming him the rightful governor of Lagos State.

The federal government declared a public holiday on Wednesday

The Nigerian federal government has announced that Wednesday, 27, will be a public holiday celebrating the birth of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

In a statement prepared by Dr Oluwatoyin Akinlade, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry published in the representation of the Minister of Interior, Hon Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, shared his celebratory message to the Muslims and congratulated them for being a part of this year’s event.

“Minister congratulates all Muslim faithful home and diaspora for witnessing this year’s occasion,” the statement reads.

“His caution to Nigerians is to imbibe the spirit of love, patience, tolerance and

perseverance, which are profound spiritual virtues that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) exemplified,” the statement advised.

Taraba State government introduces training in E-governance to civil servants

On Monday, 25 September, the Taraba state government began its training of its senior civil servants on the operations of electronic governance according to Agbu Kefa, the state governor’s vision.

At the opening ceremony of the 5-Day Professional Development Workshop for secretaries of ministries, departments, and agencies held at Shield Hotel, Jalingo, the governor stated that the training was a part of his strategic goals for repositioning the bureaucracy but also getting the staff along with ‘Moving Forward’ agenda.

“My goal is to transform and institutionalise a Civil Service in which everyone is adaptive and compliant in the areas of computer literacy in a bid to entrench an e-governance platform that will boost efficiency, eliminate bureaucratic red tape, and enhance transparency,” he said.

“In my inaugural speech, I clearly stated that my administration will restore the integrity of the Civil Service, which has been bastardised through favouritism and political considerations. We will give the Civil Service a better orientation to restore its professionalism.”

Lalong pleads with NLC not to strike, “I’ve met one of your demands.”

Since the announcement of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) going on strike and destabilising the country’s economy, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, has deployed all diplomatic measures to dissuade them from going on an indefinite strike.

The members of the NLC set an appointment on Tuesday, 26 September,  to discuss further arrangements regarding the looming strike when Lalong pleaded with the NLC members not to give forward with the strike, saying he had fulfilled one of their crucial demands.

The Minister, represented by the ministry’s spokesman, Olajide Oshundun, revealed in an interview that he had been able to make good on his promise to the union, which was the release of detained members of the executive of the National  Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW); he said he would surely fulfil the other demands.

“We have not stopped on our roles. The federal government has not relegated its roles and responsibilities to ensuring a peaceful working environment, and the government has been appealing to the NLC to give some little time for the issues to be resolved.”

“So, the federal government is reaching out to labour to appeal to them, to give the government a few more weeks. A pronouncement would be made about the second issue, which is the wage award,” Oshundun said.

The President of ASUU claims 40 to 50 per cent of Nigerian students will drop out in two years due to fee hike

The President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, suggested that 40 to 50 per cent of Nigerian students will drop out of school in two or three years if the federal government does not curb the increment of school fees in universities.

On Sunday, 24 September, Prof Osodeke gave his opinion on the increase of school fees by Nigerian universities and how it will affect the educational sector, particularly the students.

“Today, universities are arbitrarily increasing school fees. Is that correct in an environment today where the minimum wage is ₦30,000 per month when you have to pay rent, pay heavily for transportation, and enforce it on the students?” he questioned.

“If nothing is done about these heavy fees being introduced by schools all over the country, in the next two or three years, more than 40 to 50 per cent of these children in school today will drop out,” he said.

The union president stated that it would be an issue if many of the nation’s youths were to leave school.

He posited that the government should be back to the ’60s and ’70s when they paid students for going to school. He reminisced about his days when the government did just that.

He spoke about student loans and how ineffective the conditions are for the Nigerian students who might need the loans. He therefore called for a review of the loans.