• House of Reps allegedly proposes bills to hinder civil rights
• EFCC donates ₦50 billion crime proceeds to NELFUND
• Revenue Commission reveals how much Nigerian Senators earn monthly
• Federal government reveals plans to bring back 12,400 migrated doctors
• Minister of Powers promises Nigerians stable electricity as power generation hits 5,105MW

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

House of Reps allegedly proposes bills to hinder civil rights 

The House of Representatives has allegedly proposed bills seeking to fit Nigerians into a fearful box shortly after the #EndBadGovernance nationwide protest.

The alleged bill, named the “Counter Subversion Bill 2024”, sponsored by speaker Tajudeen Abbas, is already on its way to a second reading and aims at stifling the rights of Nigerians (individuals or groups) by imposing fines and years of imprisonment ranging between 25 years imprisonment and a fine of ₦10 million.

According to the reports, among the many clauses introduced in the bill presented to the House of Reps, it states that if anyone is found damaging national symbols, refusing to recite the national anthem and pledge, or defacing a place of worship to start violence, they will face a fine of ₦5 million, a 10-year imprisonment, or both.

EFCC donates ₦50 billion crime proceeds to NELFUND

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has donated ₦50 billion to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to promote educational privileges amongst all Nigerian students.

The NELFUND Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, visited the EFCC headquarters in Abuja to appreciate the kind gesture.

“We are aware of the funds from the proceeds of crime extended to NELFUND. We are here to express our gratitude for the gesture. We also want the EFCC to exercise oversight on what we are doing,” Sawyerr said.

Upon the meeting, the Chairman of EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, warned the management team of NELFUND against spending and looting the donated funds. Instead, he demanded they be accountable for how the ₦50 billion will be effectively spent on underprivileged Nigerians who need the government’s help to further their education.

Revenue Commission reveals how much Nigerian Senators earn monthly

The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has published its report on the monthly salary and allowances of each of the 109 Senators in the red chamber.

According to the commission’s report, each of the senators is entitled to a take-home salary of ₦1,063,860, which is broken down as Basic Salary (₦168,866), Personal Assistant (₦42,216), Wardrobe (₦42,216), Motor Vehicle Fuelling and Maintenance Allowance (₦126,650), Constituency Allowance (₦422,166), Domestic Staff (₦126,650), Newspapers or Periodicals (₦25,330), Entertainment (₦50,660), Utilities (₦50,660), respectively.

However, the RMAFC chairman, M.B. Shehu stated that regular and non-regular allowances are sometimes paid on different occasions. The regular allowances are paid along with the basic salary. In contrast, the non-regular allowances such as Furniture Allowance (₦6.07m), Severance Gratuity (₦6,07m) are paid once in every tenure and Vehicle allowance (₦8.1m) is optional and a loan which is to be repaid before the Senator vacates office.

Federal government reveals plans to bring back 12,400 migrated doctors

The National Policy on Health Workforce through the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Mohammad Pate, has announced that it aims to woo about 12,400 Nigerian-trained medical doctors who have migrated and are practising abroad.

Prof Mohammad Pate took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to announce after revealing that about 67% of Nigerian-trained doctors have all migrated to the UK and practised there, leaving the NHIS workforce with 25%.

“Nigerians are very vibrant, entrepreneurial, and capable wherever they are. If Nigerians hold back from the UK, for instance, the NHS will struggle to provide the services that many Nigerians are going there to get,” he said.

Minister of Powers promises Nigerians stable electricity as power generation hits 5,105MW

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, promised to increase the stability of electricity for all Nigerians as he unveiled his goal of generating 6,000 megawatts of power by December 2024.

He affirmed that the federal government was working hard to meet the people’s demands. To celebrate, the country’s power generation has hit 5,105 megawatts, aiming to reach 6,000 megawatts by the end of December 2024.

He made the statement during his visit to the Calabar power plant of Niger Delta Power Holding Company, saying that the power plant was the most active plant among all the ten NDPHCs.