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NELFUND to introduce wallet system

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) said it will introduce a wallet-based payment system that lets students authorise direct payment of their approved tuition fees to their institutions.

This move is expected to prevent double payments and eliminate disputes over refunds.

The new system is expected to take effect in the 2026/2027 academic session.

Already the pilot phase has taken off with more than 400000 applications recorded ahead of the planned rollout for the next academic session.

NELFUND’s Managing Director Akintunde Sawyerr announced this yesterday in Abuja while addressing reporters on the proposed NELFUND 2.0 regional workshops across the six geopolitical zones.

The NELFUND boss said the system would enable students to initiate payments through their phones with approved funds transferred directly to their institutions rather than their personal bank accounts.

‘We are putting the power for payment in the hands of the students. The payment to the institution will now be walletised so that students can click on their phone and the institution is paid directly’ he said.

Sawyerr explained that the new arrangement was designed to address cases where students paid their fees independently because they were unaware that NELFUND had already remitted the money to their institutions.

‘For example we paid the institution on Monday. The student did not know on Tuesday that we had paid and he paid again by Wednesday to meet a deadline. Then on Friday he heard that we had paid’ he said.

The NELFUND boss also explained how duplicate payments had led to refund requests.

He said the new system would ensure that students knew when their payments were made while institutions would receive the funds directly.

Also NELFUND’s Executive Director of Operations Mustapha Iyal said the digital tokens would be tied to specific institutions and could neither be transferred to students’ personal accounts nor redirected to other schools.

‘The token is attached to an institution. It is not a personal wallet like a mobile money wallet. Each token is attached to a certain institution; so it only goes there’ Iyal said.

The executive director stressed that students would not receive cash through the system but would authorise payments directly to their schools.

‘We are not giving students money but we are giving them power’ he said.

Iyal further explained that the funds could only be transferred to the institution for which the loan was approved.

‘If you are going to the University of Maiduguri and you have a token that says your fees have been approved; if you push the button N200000 will go to that school’s account. That person cannot send that money to the Borno State University.

‘If they don’t push the button the money doesn’t go anywhere. It can never be transferred to the personal account of the student or anyone else. It can only go in one direction to one spot. It’s a one-to-one push’ Iyal stated.

According to him the system will also address complaints over delayed refunds explaining that NELFUND pays tuition directly to institutions and does not hold students’ money for subsequent refunds.

‘We are not encouraging refunds because that’s not what NELFUND is set up for’ he said urging students who needed financial assistance to apply early and complete the process before the stipulated deadline.

He also cautioned institutions against asking students to pay their fees with the promise of subsequent refunds.

The executive director said NELFUND was developing a portal that would enable parents to check whether their children’s school fees had been paid by entering their matriculation numbers.

‘The portal would indicate whether payment had been made without disclosing the amount a measure he said would help prevent students from collecting money from their parents after their fees had been settled through the scheme’ Iyal said.

The executive director said the initiative followed instances in which institutions failed to notify students promptly after receiving payments leaving beneficiaries unaware that their fees had been settled.

Sawyerr said the proposed NELFUND 2.0 regional workshops would prepare participating institutions and stakeholders for the upgraded Student Loan Application System as the fund anticipates increased demand for loans.

He explained that the prospect of applications rising to 2 million referred to expected demand rather than an increase in available funding.

‘The demand is huge and I’m not sure we will ever have enough funds to cope with it’ he said.

The NELFUND chief executive added that the agency needed to strengthen its technology systems and processes to manage the growing number of applications.

The workshops with the theme: ‘NELFUND 2.0: Transforming Access Simplifying Applications and Empowering Students’ will bring together institutional heads bursars desk officers IT administrators students and community representatives.

The sessions will focus on application procedures institutional verification technical readiness and improved service delivery with the aim of reducing errors and strengthening coordination between NELFUND and participating institutions.

Meralco core profit jumped 12% to P45B

Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), led by tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan, saw a 12-percent growth in its bottom line in the first three quarters of 2026, thanks largely to greater contribution from its power generation and retail electricity business.

At a briefing on Wednesday, Meralco chief financial officer Betty Siy-Yap said the company’s core consolidated net income grew to P44.8 billion from January to September, up from P40 billion in the same period last year.

This developed as sales volume across both of Meralco’s power generation and retail electricity supply businesses rose 7 percent, reaching 21,419 gigawatt-hours (GWh) and 5,914 GWh, respectively.

Still, Meralco’s distribution utility businesses continued to take the lion’s share of its core consolidated profit with P20.1 billion, or 45 percent of the total.

Overall, Meralco’s sales reached 52,017 GWh during the first three quarters.

El Niño

Siy-Yap said sales were partly buoyed by the El Niño, which caused warmer temperatures that subsequently drove up demand for electricity for cooling devices.

Pangilinan said the ‘good’ third-quarter performance puts the company on track to end 2026 with P56.6 billion in core consolidated net income, which would mark an 11.92-percent increase from P50.57 billion in 2025.

‘While global uncertainties continue to put pressure on fuel supply and prices, Meralco’s diversified portfolio continues to give us greater strength and flexibility to navigate the challenges,’ the Meralco chair and CEO said in a statement.

Meralco delivers electricity to Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite and Rizal as well as parts of Pampanga, Laguna, Batangas and Quezon.

Weaker peso

In the first three quarters, Meralco saw its revenues rise 19 percent to P443.04 billion from P371.76 billion last year.

Total costs and expenses jumped a fifth to P397.7 billion due to higher purchased power costs, which likewise increased by 20 percent to P338.69 billion in the first three quarters.

Meralco said the weakening peso, which has breached the P64-per-dollar mark, will ‘definitely’ have an impact on the company, particularly on its pass-through generation costs.

But it nonetheless assured consumers that it was already looking at solutions to curb the effects of the depreciating peso. Siy-Yap also emphasized that all of Meralco’s debts are peso-denominated.

On renewable energy, Meralco said MGEN Renewables Inc.-previously SP New Energy Corp., backed by lawmaker Leandro Leviste-is expected to end 2026 back in the black, with a projected net income of P700 million.

Editorial: Lagos must translate economic ambitions into better living conditions

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has set an ambitious target for the state. And it is growing its economy to nearly $1 trillion by 2052. The vision, outlined in the Lagos State Development Plan 2052, reflects the government’s desire to transform Lagos into a globally competitive economic and financial hub. However, while such ambitions deserve attention, the government must not lose sight of a more immediate responsibility: improving the daily lives of millions of Lagos residents.

A megacity is not defined merely by the size of its economy, the volume of investment it attracts or the skyscrapers that dominate its skyline. It is also judged by the quality of life it offers its residents. For many Lagosians, that quality of life is determined by whether electricity is available, refuse is evacuated promptly and roads are motorable. These are basic expectations that should not be overshadowed by grand economic projections.

At the Lagos Executive Business Breakfast Meeting organised by the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce, Sanwo-Olu highlighted infrastructure development, technological innovation, investment and job creation as essential to the state’s future. He also pointed to achievements such as the Blue and Red rail lines, improvements in electricity regulation and investments in healthcare and education.

These projects are significant, particularly in a city whose population and economic activities place enormous pressure on existing infrastructure. Nevertheless, the government must measure progress not only by completed projects and investment figures but also by the extent to which ordinary residents experience meaningful improvements in their daily lives.

Electricity remains a major test of the government’s commitment to a better Lagos. Households and businesses continue to depend heavily on generators to bridge gaps in public electricity supply. The consequences include additional costs, noise and harmful emissions, while small businesses must often spend a substantial proportion of their earnings on alternative power.

Lagos has taken steps to establish a state electricity market following constitutional and legislative changes that opened the door to greater state participation in electricity regulation and supply. The challenge now is to ensure that these reforms produce tangible benefits for consumers.

The state government should work with electricity market operators, distribution companies and other relevant stakeholders to expand reliable supply, encourage investment in local generation and distribution, and improve accountability. It should also ensure that consumers receive clear information about tariffs, service standards and complaint procedures.

The goal should be an electricity system that allows businesses to operate more efficiently and households to enjoy a better quality of life. Economic growth cannot reach its full potential when businesses must spend heavily to generate the power they need to survive.

Waste management is another area requiring urgent and sustained attention. The accumulation of refuse in streets, markets, residential neighbourhoods and drainage channels undermines the image of Lagos as a city aspiring to global standards. Beyond the unpleasant sight and smell, poorly managed waste can block drainage, worsen flooding and create conditions that threaten public health.

The government must therefore move beyond periodic sanitation campaigns and emergency responses to establish a dependable waste management system. Refuse should be evacuated regularly, collection services should be monitored, and areas that are frequently neglected should receive particular attention.

The Lagos Waste Management Authority and other relevant agencies must be adequately equipped and held accountable for their responsibilities. The government should also strengthen recycling initiatives, support waste recovery businesses and enforce regulations against indiscriminate dumping.

Residents have a responsibility to dispose of their waste properly, but this obligation must be matched by accessible and efficient collection services. It is unreasonable to expect people to maintain clean surroundings when refuse collection is unreliable or designated disposal facilities are inadequate.

The condition of roads across Lagos also demands greater attention. While major highways and flagship infrastructure projects are important, the quality of life in many communities is shaped by the condition of neighbourhood roads that residents use every day.

Bad roads increase transport costs, damage vehicles, lengthen journeys and make access to workplaces, schools, hospitals and markets more difficult. During the rainy season, deteriorating roads and blocked drainage can turn ordinary journeys into exhausting ordeals.

The government should adopt a more systematic approach to road maintenance, with clear priorities, realistic timelines and regular public updates. Attention must extend beyond major commercial corridors to residential communities, inner roads and streets that connect people to essential services.

Road construction should also be accompanied by proper drainage and maintenance plans. Repeatedly patching damaged roads without addressing underlying drainage problems offers, at best, temporary relief. Public funds must deliver durable results.

The state government’s growing budget provides an opportunity to address these challenges more comprehensively. Sanwo-Olu disclosed that Lagos’s budget had risen from about N700 billion in 2019 to N4.2 trillion in 2026. Although a larger budget does not automatically guarantee better services, it raises legitimate expectations about the results residents should see from public spending.

The government should make the impact of expenditure more visible by publishing clear performance indicators for electricity access, waste collection, road rehabilitation and other essential services. Residents should be able to assess what has been budgeted, what has been delivered and what remains outstanding.

Accountability is particularly important because Lagos’s economic success depends on the productivity and welfare of its people. Workers who spend hours navigating bad roads, traders who struggle with unreliable electricity and families who live amid accumulated refuse cannot fully enjoy the benefits of economic expansion.

The governor has said he wants to be remembered as a leader who touched the lives of residents according to their individual needs. That aspiration should provide a practical measure of his administration’s performance. A legacy is not established by projections for 2052 alone; it is also built through improvements that people can see and experience today.

The Lagos State Development Plan 2052 identifies a human-centred city, modern infrastructure, a thriving economy and effective governance among its major pillars. These objectives are interconnected. A thriving economy requires reliable electricity and efficient transport. Modern infrastructure must include functional roads and effective drainage. A human-centred city must provide clean surroundings and dependable public services. Effective governance requires public institutions to deliver on their responsibilities.

The government must therefore resist the temptation to measure progress mainly through the language of global competitiveness and investment attraction. Such goals matter, but they should complement, rather than replace, the immediate needs of residents.

Lagos has the potential to become a stronger economic hub, but the journey towards that future must improve life in its neighbourhoods as well as strengthen its business districts. Investors need an efficient business environment, while residents need infrastructure that works.

The message to the Sanwo-Olu administration is clear: the ambition to build a trillion-dollar economy must be matched by a determined effort to provide reliable electricity, regular waste evacuation and good roads.

By 2052, Lagos may aspire to stand among the world’s leading megacities. But its residents should not have to wait until then to enjoy the basic services that make urban life safe, productive and dignified. The government must make a better life for Lagosians a present-day priority, not merely a promise for the future.

Buddy Racketeers: A response

One cannot help but observe that, since of late, there is a concerted effort to demean and belittle Buddhist concepts and talk disparagingly about Buddhist priests, ‘Maha Sangha’ as reverently referred to by the Buddhists, the majority race in Sri Lanka, like the following content included in the article by Sarath De Alwis titled ‘ Buddy Racketeers ‘

On a Saturday, an opulent parade of luxury, chauffeured chariots rolled directly into the Kotte headquarters of the Kotte Sri Kalyani Samagri Dharma Maha Sangha Sabha of the Siam Nikaya.

Out stepped saffron-clad potentates, oozing obesity and some limping with diabetic neuropathy, the telltale evidence of indolence masquerading as piety.

It is also an inescapable fact that the text of the article is packed with sweeping derogatory references to the Buddhist clergy, like in the above two paragraphs, not commensurate with reality. It is a sad fact that the Author of this article deliberately ignored the good deeds performed by the Buddhist Priests at times of national calamities such as the pandemic or riots to promote peace and provide shelter and assistance to the victims of natural disasters like floods and landslides, irrespective of the ethnicity .

Some Buddhist monks are accused of sowing the seeds of ethnic tensions and rife between communities which is a fact to a certain extent but they are only a minority. Majority of Buddhist Priests strive for peace and harmony among all citizens and are generous in providing essential needs to the deserving. Similarly, there are elements with extremist tendencies in all communities but such facts are never highlighted. The Buddhist Priests are Law Abiding and peace loving. They never challenged authority or judiciary. At times, when they express their opinions or ideas, they may appear stubborn but usually within the framework of civil discipline.

So, please refrain from spreading anti Buddhist attitudes or sentiments. Our priority should be bringing unity among all citizens and achieving prosperity for everyone.

Mandaluyong court junks Piki contempt case vs Lopez majority

The Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court dismissed a petition to hold in indirect contempt several members of the Lopez majority bloc over alleged violations of a temporary restraining order in relation to the controversial family feud.

In a regulatory filing on Wednesday, Lopez Holdings Corp. said a copy of the court ruling dated Oct. 26 had granted the respondents’ joint motion to dismiss the complaint with prejudice, putting an end to the contempt proceedings.

A copy of the decision was not immediately available to the media.

‘Willfull’ violation

The petition, filed by Lopez Holdings chair Federico ‘Piki’ Lopez earlier this year, claimed that four directors of the group and two corporate secretaries ‘willfully violated’ the court orders dated March 11 and March 16 of this year.

The respondents were Rafael Lopez, Martin Lopez, Michael Jack Garcia, Salvador Tirona, lawyer Enrique Quiason and lawyer Maria Amina Amado.

The issue started at a Feb. 27 special meeting of Lopez Inc.’s board, where an alleged attempt was launched to remove Piki as president.

Temporary restraining orders (TROs) were sought and then issued in March, barring the defendants from naming a new company president.

Governance stability

Piki earlier argued in the petition that his removal threatened governance stability across key Lopez companies, including Lopez Holdings Corp., First Philippine Holdings Corp., First Gen Corp. and Energy Development Corp.

However, the filing of a contempt petition was triggered after Piki alleged that the respondents had violated the TROs during a special board meeting of Lopez Holdings last March 26. This, as the respondents voted to submit two competing lists of nominees for the board of First Philippine Holdings Corp. for consideration.

The defendants maintained that the TRO did not cover Lopez Holdings

The majority group said the latest development has no effect on its business or operations.

Sri Lanka team leaves for Hong Kong Sixes

The seven-member Sri Lanka team led by left-handed opener Sangeeth Cooray left for Hong Kong yesterday to participate in the Hong Kong Sixes cricket tournament.

The 12-team tournament will be held from 30 October to 1 November at the Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The seven-member squad comprised Sangeeth Cooray (Captain), Sachitha Jayatilake, Movin Subasinghe, Ravindu Fernando, Vishen Halambage, Muditha Lakshan and Chamindu Wijesinghe.

Sri Lanka face Bangladesh in their opening game on 30 October and play Scotland on 31 October from Group B. Sri Lanka have won the tournament twice in 2024 under the captaincy of Lahiru Madushanka and in 2007 when Indika de Saram led the side.

Tinubu is going to Saudi for Umrah, not treatment – Aide

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will travel to Saudi Arabia to perform the lesser Hajj (Umrah), rather than seek medical treatment, his Special Adviser on Social Media, Dada Olusegun, has said.

The aide made the clarification on Thursday in a post on X while responding to human rights activist Omoyele Sowore, who had questioned the purpose of Tinubu’s planned foreign trip and raised concerns about his health.

Olusegun said the President would use the religious pilgrimage to pray for Nigeria and seek God’s intervention for his re-election in 2027.

Sowore, in a post on Wednesday, alleged that the President was preparing for another overseas trip on Thursday, October 29, 2026, following his recent rally in Kaduna.

He also claimed that five governors, some ministers and prominent businesspeople were being assembled for the journey, suggesting that their presence could make it appear to be an official business visit.

‘Nigeria is in serious trouble! After the Kaduna rally, there are now indications that Bola Ahmed Tinubu #officialabat is being prepared for another foreign trip tomorrow, October 29, 2026, amid growing questions about his health.

‘Hearing that five governors, some ministers, and prominent businessmen are being assembled for the trip, apparently to give it the appearance of an official business visit.

‘Like Yar’Adua, like Tinubu?’ he tweeted.

Responding to the allegations, Olusegun maintained that Tinubu’s trip was for religious purposes, citing the President’s previous visits to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah in 2022.

‘President Tinubu is not heading to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment. He is heading to the Holy Land for the Lesser Hajj (Umrah), like other Muslims across the world, to offer supplications for the country and commit his re-election journey into the hands of God.

‘This is not new… it is a regular practice among Muslims when they want to embark on any critical journey or attain a milestone. Mr Sowore, in case you have temporary amnesia, Bola Ahmed Tinubu travelled to Makkah, Saudi Arabia, to perform Umrah (Lesser Hajj) twice in 2022… first in April 2022, before the APC primary election, and again in late December 2022, before the presidential election.

‘His prayers were answered on both occasions. It is only sensible to stick to a potent strategy; hence the President is going again. On Saturday, the President was in Kaduna to flag off his re-election campaign.

The presidential aide also pointed to Tinubu’s recent official engagements, including his Kaduna rally, meetings with former African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina and Nigerian Tourism Development Authority Director-General Ola Awakan, and his chairing of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Thursday.

‘Yesterday, he received the former AfDB President, Akinwumi Adesina, in an audience and separately hosted the Director-General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Authority (NTDA), Ola Awakan. Today, the President chaired the FEC meeting, where some consequential decisions were made.

‘Mr Sowore, a ‘sick person’ would not have this many itineraries to accomplish. Mr President is fit as a fiddle, and no evil, as you are wishing for, will befall the People’s President,’ Olusegun stated.

The Hidden Cost of Our Digital Lives: What Happens to Old Phones and Electronics?

Most of us have a drawer tucked behind the takeaway menus and spare keys with a tangle of dead chargers, a cracked phone from three upgrades ago, maybe a laptop that got slow and was replaced months back. We tell ourselves we will deal with it someday. Multiply that drawer by billions of households, and you begin to see one of the fastest-growing waste problems on the planet.

A mountain that keeps growing

The United Nations’ Global E-waste Monitor reported that people generated around 62 million tonnes of electronic waste in 2022, and the figure has been rising steadily. Only about one fifth of it was formally collected and recycled. The rest was stored away, thrown in general rubbish, or handled through informal channels that nobody tracks.

Part of the reason is how quickly our devices come and go. Phones are marketed as annual upgrades. Batteries are sealed inside bodies that cannot be opened. A screen cracks or a battery fades, and replacing the whole device can seem easier, and sometimes cheaper, than fixing it. Add the explosion of small gadgets such as earbuds, smartwatches, vapes with built-in batteries and cheap electric toys, and the pile grows even faster.

Where old devices actually go

When a phone leaves your hands, its journey depends on where you live and who collects it. Some devices reach authorised recyclers, who dismantle them, separate the materials and send them on for processing. Others are shipped abroad as ‘used goods,’ a label that sometimes hides the fact that much of the cargo no longer works. Large volumes of discarded electronics end up in parts of West Africa and South and Southeast Asia, where informal workers often take them apart by hand.

That is where the human cost appears. To reach the copper inside cables, workers may burn insulation in open fires. To get at gold, some use acids without protective gear. These methods release toxic smoke and contaminate soil and water, and children are frequently among those exposed. The underlying cause is simple. There is money in the metal, and little support for doing the job safely.

What is inside, and why it matters

An old phone is a small package of both treasure and trouble. On the valuable side, it contains gold, silver, copper, palladium and cobalt, along with rare earth elements used in magnets and screens. Mining these materials from the ground is not simple and often damaging to land and communities. Recovering them from old devices uses far less energy, and some experts describe e-waste as an urban mine because the concentration of metals can be higher than in natural ore.

On the other hand, electronics can contain lead, mercury, cadmium, brominated flame retardants and other substances that are harmful if they leak into the environment. Lithium batteries add another risk. When crushed or punctured in a rubbish truck or at a landfill, they can overheat and start fires, which waste handlers report with growing alarm. Throwing an old phone in the bin is not a harmless act.

Repair and reuse come first

The most sustainable device is the one that is never replaced. Repairing a phone, swapping a battery or upgrading a laptop’s memory can directly impact manufacturing. Most of a device’s environmental footprint comes from making it, not from running it, so stretching its life matters more than recycling it afterwards.

Some argue that manufacturers should supply spare parts, tools and manuals, and avoid designs that make repair deliberately difficult. Certain regions have begun introducing rules along these lines, and some brands now offer repair programmes of their own. Local repair shops, long a feature of busy town centres, are doing a great deal of environmental work. Their value is easy to overlook until you need a cracked screen replaced for a fraction of the cost of a new phone.

Reuse is the next step. A phone that no longer suits one person can serve another, whether through resale, donation, or trade-in schemes. Refurbished devices are growing in popularity because they deliver decent performance at lower prices.

Recycling done properly

When a device is broken, responsible recycling is the answer. That means using certified facilities that remove hazardous materials safely, recover metals efficiently, and keep records of where everything goes. Consumers can help by looking for official collection points, retailer take-back schemes, and community drives rather than handing electronics to anyone who offers cash at the gate.

A business opportunity hiding in plain sight

For companies, the numbers are encouraging. The value of the raw materials contained in discarded electronics runs into tens of billions of dollars each year, most of it currently lost. That has created room for refurbishers, repair networks, parts harvesters, battery recovery specialists and recyclers using advanced separation technology. Manufacturers are also exploring take-back programmes that recover materials to feed straight back into new products.

Governments can help with clear regulations, producer responsibility rules that make makers help fund collection, and support for formal recycling industries that offer fair jobs.

The drawer in your home is a small version of a global challenge. Emptying it responsibly and thinking twice before the next upgrade is a practical place to start.

Undas: Bus driver tests positive in ‘Oplan Harabas’ in South Cotabato

A bus driver tested positive in an initial drug screening of 200 transport workers at three terminals in Koronadal City and General Santos City ahead of Undas, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Region 12 (PDEA-12) said.

Asnawi Salik, PDEA-12 Assistant regional director, said the annual Oplan Harabas aims to ensure that public utility vehicle drivers are not under the influence of illegal drugs while transporting passengers during the holiday rush.

The screening was conducted on Oct. 27 at the Koronadal Integrated Transport Terminal Complex and the Yellow Bus Terminal in Koronadal City, and the General Santos City Public Terminal.

The drug-positive driver’s specimen will undergo confirmatory testing to establish the final result.

Salik said drivers who test positive are subject to the confiscation of their driver’s licenses and suspension by the Land Transportation Office (LTO).

The workers screened included 62 bus drivers, 64 bus conductors, 66 van drivers, one mini-bus driver, four taxi drivers and three tricycle drivers.

Authorities also conducted K9 inspections at the terminals but detected no illegal drugs.

The operation was carried out in coordination with the LTO-12, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board Region 12, the Philippine National Police, and the local governments of Koronadal City and General Santos City.

Oplan Harabas supports the implementation of Republic Act No. 10586, or the Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act of 2013, and the government’s Oplan Byaheng Ayos: Undas 2026.

Salik reminded public utility vehicle drivers to ensure they are fit to drive, stressing that their passengers’ lives depend on their safety behind the wheel.

That Is Not Proper’, NLC knocks TUC over N70,000 allowance

The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has criticised the Trade Union Congress (TUC) for rejecting the Federal Government’s N70,000 monthly transport allowance for public sector workers.

Ajaero described the TUC’s decision as improper, saying the union should negotiate its own agreement with the government instead of rejecting an arrangement it was not part of.

Speaking on Channels Television on Thursday, Ajaero said the TUC did not participate in the negotiations that led to the agreement between the government and the NLC.

‘The TUC did not sign the agreement. You don’t oppose something you did not negotiate or ask for,’ he said.

The TUC had rejected the six-month transport allowance on Wednesday, describing it as unsustainable and insufficient to address workers’ needs. It called on the government to increase workers’ salaries instead.

Ajaero said he would have preferred both labour unions to demand better benefits for workers, noting that the government might have agreed to improved terms if both unions had made stronger demands.

He also said the TUC had not asked the government for assistance over the rising cost of transportation.

According to him, any demand for a salary increase must follow a formal negotiation process rather than expecting the government to grant it without proper arrangements.

Ajaero added that the NLC had urged the government to begin work on a committee to review workers’ salaries.

He expressed surprise that the TUC rejected the allowance despite not participating in the negotiations.

‘You don’t have the power to reject what a sister union negotiates. You have the power to ask for your own,’ he said.