*** Meeting with FG ends in deadlock, adjourned to October 27 

***NEC approves 90-day plan to ease crisis

By Sam Otuonye 

The Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress have directed its state chapters and other affiliate bodies to mobilise their  members for an impending indefinite nationwide strike, following what it described as the federal government’s non commitment to addressing their demands amidst the lingering hardship that has trailed the government’s economic policies for the past three years.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) had issued a two-week strike ultimatum on October 9, 2026, which expired today, Friday, October 23, 2026.

Among the demands,  was a reduction of the pump prices of petrol to 2024 levels to cushion the energy and cost-of-living crises.

The unions also demanded for an immediately commencement of renegotiation of the national minimum wage, as well as full implementation of pending agreements with public-sector and health-sector workers, alongside tax relief and wage.

The ultimatum however led the federal government to fix a meeting with labour for Thursday, 22 October.

But Labour in a statement issued at the end of the meeting, warned of possible nationwide industrial action following unsuccessful talks with the Federal Government over workers’ demands.

The Unions in a joint statement signed by the NLC General Secretary, Benson Upah, and the TUC Secretary-General, Nuhu Toro, alleged that the government delegation lacked the mandate required to negotiate substantively on the issues..

The organised labour,  however, said their next steps would depend on the outcome of another meeting scheduled for Tuesday, October 27, adding that their affiliates and state councils had been directed to prepare for possible action if the government failed to make meaningful progress.

The statement said the Minister of Labour requested an adjournment until October 27 to allow the government to prepare adequately and ensure that relevant ministers and heads of departments and agencies attended the next session.

It added that organised labour would  remained open to dialogue but would not accept prolonged delays in addressing workers’ concerns.

“No concrete commitments were secured, and the outstanding issues remain unresolved,” the unions said, expressing disappointment with the outcome of the meeting.

“We will report back to our organs, and if no meaningful progress is made on Tuesday, the relevant organs of the NLC will decide the next line of action,” the statement added.

Labour also urged its affiliates, state councils and civil society allies to remain vigilant and begin preparations for possible nationwide action pending the outcome of the next meeting.

The unions, however, appealed to workers and members of the public to remain calm, expressing hope that the government would address their concerns at the rescheduled talks..

It added that Labour would attend the next meeting in the hope of securing progress, but warned that with any decision on industrial action would be taken by their respective organs if the talks fail to produce meaningful results.

Meanwhile the National Economic Council (NEC) has approved a 90-day economic action plan designed to reduce the cost of living, improve access to affordable food and attract investments across the country.

The approval followed an initiative by the Federal Ministry of Finance at it’s 161st meeting  chaired virtually by Vice President Kashim Shettima on Thursday 

According to a statement issued by Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communications, the plan focuses on five priority areas: food affordability, tax harmonisation, completion of critical infrastructure projects, removal of investment bottlenecks and regulated household support.

The council also approved the establishment of a national dashboard to monitor projects nationwide and promote transparency and accountability, particularly in tracking the utilisation of funds generated from the removal of the petrol subsidy.

Speaking during the meeting, Shettima urged state governors and relevant government agencies to ensure that the benefits of President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms translate into tangible improvements in the lives of Nigerians.

“The first dividend of prosperity should be the confidence to plan a life. Our task is to make such confidence less dependent on fortune,” the vice president said.

“Our separate mandates must not become competing excuses. Each governor carries knowledge that no federal document can supply,” he said.

On transportation, the vice president said the success of the National Compressed Natural Gas Bus Initiative should be determined by its impact on commuters’ expenses rather than the number of vehicles deployed.

“The cost of reaching a livelihood should never consume the livelihood itself. The passenger’s experience must guide our ambition, because the value of public transport resides in the journeys it makes possible. We should assess success through affordability and access, rather than fleet size alone,” he said.

***Patient recently arrived Nigeria from Uganda 

***NCDC traces 44 contacts

By Sam Otuonye 

Residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were thrown into panic on Tuesday as the federal government confirmed the outbreak of Ebola case in Abuja.

The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, in a statement, quoted the Coordinating Minister, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, as disclosing the outbreak of the disease in a statement signed by the ministry’s Assistant Director of Information and Public Relations, Ado Bako, following the reported laboratory confirmation on Tuesday, October 20, 2026.

The statement identified patient as a woman who recently arrived in Nigeria on an international flight from Uganda.

The woman was reportedly admitted to a private hospital in the FCT, where she received treatment for several days before the diagnosis was confirmed. She is said to be in isolation and receiving medical care.

This is as the government has  commenced contact-tracing after the patient was said to have so far been in close contact with about 44 persons, who have reportedly been tracked and  identified.

Pate said the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), the FCT Health Services Secretariat and other relevant authorities were working together to contain the reported infection.

He said contact-tracing had commenced, with public health teams identifying and monitoring people who might have been exposed to the virus.

According to the statement , those being monitored include healthcare workers, patients, caregivers and people who may have come into contact with the patient during her travels.

The statement also said surveillance had been intensified, adding that the hospital where the patient was treated was been supported to strengthen infection prevention and control measures.

The minister urged those who have been contacted during the tracing exercise, including relevant airline passengers, to provide the necessary information and comply with public health advice.

He also called on public and private healthcare facilities nationwide to remain vigilant and promptly report suspected cases to public health authorities.

“Healthcare workers are advised to maintain a high index of suspicion, identify and isolate suspected cases without delay, and observe strict infection prevention and control measures

“Symptoms to watch for include fever, severe weakness, headache, vomiting and diarrhoea, particularly among people who may have been exposed to the virus,” the statement noted

The government urged Nigerians to remain calm and vigilant, practise regular hand hygiene and avoid contact with the body fluids of anyone suspected of having Ebola.

The statement further advised anyone who suspected exposure to contact public health authorities immediately, even if they had no symptoms, while  it urged anyone who developed symptoms to avoid close contact with others and call public health authorities for guidance before visiting a healthcare facility.

He said the Federal Government, FCT authorities and their partners were working to protect healthcare workers, patients and the wider public, adding that investigations were ongoing.

The statement further  disclosed that the NCDC’s toll-free call centre was available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to provide information and receive reports of suspected cases. Members of the public were advised to call 6232 for assistance.

*** Politicians infiltrate INEC officials, influence recruitment of ad-hoc staff,  Mike Igini alleges 

*** They undermine voters’ power through rigging, vote-buying – Okoye

*** “INEC must pay attention to integrity of people deployed to manage elections”

By Tony Chuddy 

Ahead of the 2027 general election, political actors and elite have been charged to desist from interfering  in election activities and give Nigerian electorate the free hand to choose their leaders.

The charge was given by former commissioners of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),

Mr Mike Igini and Barr. Festus Okoye, who slammed the country’s political class for allegedly undermining the nation’s democracy through their continued infiltration into the election management team.

This is even as the former INEC commissioners, who spoke from their experiences, charged INEC to pay close attention to the integrity of the staff they recruit and deploy as ad-hoc staff, both at the universities and public sector to manage elections.

Former Akwa Ibom State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mike Igini, regretted that politicians have made the job of INEC very difficult by infiltrating agencies responsible for supplying election staff, raising concerns about the commission’s ability to conduct credible elections in 2027.

Igini, who had played roles in election management for about 10 years before he left the commission, raised the alarm when he spoke during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday,

The former Akwa Ibom REC said political interference in the recruitment process could expose INEC to problems caused by other institutions, while the failure to enforce electoral laws remained his greatest concern ahead of the next general election.

He cited what he described as the illegal involvement of politicians in the recruitment of ad hoc staff, the use of technology as major challenges which the commission must address as it sets to deliver a credible 2027 election

“What happens is that politicians infiltrate those agencies. They infiltrate those agencies and create liability for the INEC itself as an institution. The laws are no longer enforced. That is my greatest worry about this election.

“The most important staff that Nigeria should focus on will be the presiding officers.”

He said the presiding officers play a central role at polling units, where votes are cast and recorded. “At the polling unit, the presiding officer, at the ward, war collection officer, Nigeria can go to section 25 to see,.

“The state has failed to protect the vote of Nigerian people. How can you pay 26.7 billion? Yet those people cannot be held accountable?”

He warned that the country cannot resolve its economic problems without first addressing its political system, noting, “If we cannot fix the politics, we cannot fix our economy.”

He emphasised the need to for the commission to remain open and transparent to build public confidence in the electoral process, noting that secrecy is a response to calls for transparency.

“The call for openness and transparency can never be answered by secrecy.”

Igini also rejected the INEC argument that political parties and candidates as well  as journalists cannot not publish their own election results.

He described the polling unit as being central to the electoral process and stressed the importance of protecting the results recorded there, warning that weaknesses in the process could allow people to announce results without proper authority.

“The argument that candidates, their political party or journalists cannot publicise their result is wholly incorrect.

“And so, at the heart of this election is the polling unit. That’s the key

“So somebody can come and impersonate tomorrow and just announce electoral results. This story happened in 2023. We’ve not sorted it out till date.

The attempt to intimidate media, houses, intimidate Niger citizens, that they cannot report, is a violation of section 39.” he warned 

The former INEC commissioner noted that Nigeria must protect elections as a means of ensuring the peaceful transfer of power.

“We have to be very careful, because the greatest promise of democracy is periodic election for peaceful transfer of power.” he warned 

Similarly, former National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Festus Okoye, accused Nigeria’s political elite of seeking to undermine voters’ power through vote-buying.

Okoye, who spoke on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Tuesday, said the political elite appeared unwilling to allow Nigerians to freely choose their leaders, lamenting that they wanted to take away the people’s power to determine election outcomes.

“I think that political elite in this country really do not believe in free, fair, and transparent election. They just want to buy the votes of the people. They want to replace the people as the sovereign, and it is very unfortunate.

“But more importantly, I think the media, civil society groups and organisations, and the Nigerian people generally must focus attention on the activities of the political elite before, during and after election.”

Okoye noted that ad hoc staff, including members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and other Nigerians recruited for elections, play a more prominent role in conducting elections at polling units than INEC’s regular staff.

He said a credible election should allow voters to cast their ballots without intimidation, coercion or duress.