• NLC rejects ₦100k minimum wage proposal
• Dangote promises Nigeria will no longer import fuel from June
• CBN, SEC, others fine GTBank, UBA, and others ₦678 million
• Central Bank of Nigeria officially withdraws its Cybersecurity Levy circular
• Iran President and Foreign Minister die in Helicopter crash

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

NLC rejects ₦100k minimum wage proposal

The Organised Labour, which comprises the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), have rejected ₦100,000 as the minimum wage proposal, claiming that such an amount was too low to cater to the needs of every Nigerian worker.

The NLC and TUC have since been in constant communication with the government as they discussed which amount will be most suitable for Nigerians as the new minimum wage.

The Organised Labour had once been approached with a minimum wage proposal of ₦48,000, which caused an uproar among the staff of the Union, causing them to walk out of the meeting. They have yet again refused to accept the ₦100k minimum wage proposal.

Dangote promises Nigeria will no longer import fuel from June

Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has announced what would be a groundbreaking achievement, claiming that come June 2024, Nigeria will no longer depend on the importation of fuel or petroleum products thanks to Dangote Refinery’s schedule.

He confidently made this announcement because the Dangote Refinery now has the potential to meet West Africa’s diesel and petrol demands along with the continent’s aviation fuel requirements.

“Right now, Nigeria has no cause to import anything apart from gasoline, and by sometime in June, within the next four or five weeks, Nigeria shouldn’t import any gasoline, not one drop,” he said.

CBN, SEC, others fine GTBank, UBA, and others ₦678 million

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fined nine financial firms ₦678 million for violating regulations.

In 2023, the nine financial institutions, namely GTBank, FBN Holdings, UBA, Access Holdings, Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Zenith Bank, Wema Bank, FCMB Group, and Fidelity Bank were compliant with the regulations as they paid less than they were fined in 2022.

The regulators responsible for fining the guilty financial firms were the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the National Insurance Commission, the National Pension Commission, FMDQ, and the NGX Regulation Limited.

Central Bank of Nigeria officially withdraws its Cybersecurity Levy circular

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has withdrawn its earlier published circular informing Nigerian financial institutions about its implementation of the National Cybersecurity Levy.

The Cybersecurity Levy circular was released on May 6 and meant to take effect on May 20; it stated that commercial banks, mobile money operators and other financial institutions were to charge a 0.5% cybersecurity Levy on every transaction made by Nigerians.

The withdrawal of the circular is due to President Bola Tinubu’s orders as he listened to the cries of the people who complained of the economic hardship they already had to endure before enforcing the Cybersecurity Levy.

Iran President and Foreign Minister die in Helicopter crash

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian were tragically killed in a helicopter crash along with other passengers.

The helicopter had been one of the three travelling in a convoy, and it crashed due to its hardships with navigating through the thick fog in the north of the country.

The constitution of the Islamic Republic has provided a remedy that whenever the ruling president of Iran is unable to perform his duties, the vice-president is then tasked to take over presidential duties and rule the country; therefore, Mohammed Mokhber will now rule with the parliament till the new president is elected.