• FG begins ₦50 electronic fee deductions from Opay, Kuda, Moniepoint
• Presidency affirms that the Tax Reform Bill will not impoverish the north
• Minimum wage strike affects government offices in Ebonyi, Kaduna, FCT and Nasarawa
• PENCOM to allow low-income earners withdraw total retirement savings
• EFCC secures forfeited Abuja estate from ex-politician

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

FG begins ₦50 electronic fee deductions from Opay, Kuda, Moniepoint

The federal government has launched ₦50 electronic fee deductions from transactions of ₦10,000 and above performed by financial technology companies such as Kuda, Opay, Moniepoint, and more.

The electronic fee known as “Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL)” was introduced under the Finance Act 2020 and is expected to place a singular and one-off fee of ₦50 on the recipient of any electronic transaction of ₦10,000 or more.

Presidency affirms that the Tax Reform Bill will not impoverish the north

Through Bayo Onanuga, the President’s special adviser on Information and Strategy, the presidency revealed that no clause in the Tax Reform Bill is focused on impoverishing the northern part of Nigeria.

The northern leaders have consistently rejected the bill as they are convinced that it would only see a rise in economic growth for those in the other regions but not north Nigeria.

“The bills will not destroy the economy of any section of the country. Instead, they aim to enhance the quality of life for Nigerians, especially the disadvantaged, who are trying to make a living,” he said.

Minimum wage strike affects government offices in Ebonyi, Kaduna, FCT and Nasarawa

Since the strike against the lack of implementation of the minimum wage began yesterday, Monday, December 2, many government offices have been reported to be heavily affected by the strike.

Activities in three states and six areas of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were paused yesterday as the workers left the FCT area councils, government secretariats, Ministries, Departments, and Agencies in the affected states (Ebonyi, Kaduna, and Nasarawa) in compliance with the Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC) instruction.

Though these states had announced their respective minimum wage offers Ebonyi (₦75,000), Kaduna (₦72,000) and Nasarawa (₦70,500), they have yet to implement the new minimum wage, hence the retaliation of NLC and its staff by embarking on strike.

PENCOM to allow low-income earners withdraw total retirement savings 

The announcement by the National Pension Commission states that low-income earners will now be allowed to withdraw all their retirement savings at once or continue receiving monthly pensions.

Before this new announcement, pensioners could only withdraw one-third of their total Retirement Savings Account (RSAs).

The memo, signed by the Head of the Surveillance Department of Pencom, A.M Salem, states that “Section 4.1 (g) of the Revised Regulation on the Administration of the Retirement and Terminal Benefits (the Regulation) provides that where the Retirement Savings Account balance cannot provide a monthly/quarterly pension or annuity of at least one-third of the prevailing minimum wage, the retiree shall be allowed to take the entire balance in the RSA en bloc.”

EFCC secures forfeited Abuja estate from ex-politician

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the forfeiture of an Abuja estate measured to be 150,000 square meters and includes 753 units of duplexes and more.

Though the EFCC has refused to divulge the culprit’s identity, reports describe the forfeiture as the most significant single asset recovery made by the anti-graft agency.