Good Monday morning.

Here are the top stories you should be monitoring today:

The staff of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) have threatened to embark on strike over the non-payment of their allowances, poor training, among other issues.

They issued a 21-day ultimatum for the Management of NEMA to “address these unfair labour practices,” else they would embark on industrial action.

A source revealed to Punch that “there is now over N2 billion in NEMA’s account, but the DG has refused to release money for anything.”

The Director General of NEMA said Saturday that relief materials would arrive Benue from Abuja in three days, however, this threat still puts the 110,000 people displaced by the flooding at risk of delayed rehabilitation.

_____

Still in Benue, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has donated N5 million to the victims of the Benue flooding, according to a tweet by former President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the government of Benue state has blamed social media for the underdevelopment of the state.

“The social media attacks have been very severe,” said the state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Lawrence Onoja Jr. “They paint Benue in bad light and discourage investors from coming in.”

_____

President Muhammadu Buhari, on Saturday, said Nigeria’s energies and resources should no longer be spent on debates about division, addressing calls for secession by several parties.

He said the calls for secession were part of the rebirth going on, adding that God had designed that the country will be together.

Meanwhile, Nnamdi Kalu, often described as ‘a polarising figure in Nigeria’, has remained dogged. He said in Saturday interview with Sun, “I will sacrifice anything including my family to ensure that Biafra is restored. Any obstacle on my way will be obliterated.”

_____

In the U.S., Defense Secretary James Mattis announced that the United States will launch a “massive military response” to any threat from Pyongyang, following claims by North Korea of a “perfect success” of the hydrogen bomb test.

U.S. President Donald Trump had earlier met with the national security team over what he described as a “great threat” in a tweet.

Trump also tweeted on Saturday that “the United States is considering, in addition to other options, stopping all trade with any country doing business with North Korea.”

_____

In other news, popular broadcaster, Frank Edoho, is reportedly being dropped as host for TV game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.

The show, formerly sponsored by MTN, will be returning after going off-air for about two months with a new sponsor, Airopay, and a new yet-to-be-disclosed host.