Members of the Democratic Youth Assembly of Nigeria (DYAN) have visited the Vice-President, Oil and Gas, Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Mr. Devakumar Edwin, in his office at the corporate Headquarters of the Pan-African Conglomerate in Lagos during which they presented him with an award of “Icon of Delight Service” in recognition of what they described as his contributions toward Societal Development, Human Upliftment and Selfless Service to Humanity.

Amid discussions of a potential minimum wage increase for workers, the Federal Government is weighing the necessity of a supplementary budget.

Concerns arise as the negotiated amount threatens to exceed the allocated funds in the original 2024 budget, prompting deliberations on fiscal adjustments.

This suggestion was made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its recent staff country report for Nigeria.

“The authorities noted that a supplementary budget may be needed to accommodate the outcome of the ongoing wage structure negotiations which may exceed what they had included in the 2024 budget.

“Staff projects a higher fiscal deficit than anticipated in the 2024 budget, but broadly unchanged from 2023. The drivers are lower oil/gas revenue projections, reflecting IMF oil price forecasts but incorporating recent production gains; higher implicit fuel and electricity subsidies; continued suspension of excise measures included in the MTEF; and higher interest costs.

“Staff factors in an under-execution of capital expenditure in line with past outcomes and estimates an FGN deficit of 4.5 per cent of GDP relative to the 2024 budget target of 3.4 per cent of GDP. For the consolidated government, this implies a projected deficit of 4.7 per cent of GDP in 2024—compared to 4.8 per cent of GDP in 2023 measured from the financing side—which is appropriate given the large social needs and factoring in a realistic pace of revenue mobilisation.

“Over the medium-term, staff projects consolidation in the non-oil primary deficit. With rising interest costs, government debt stabilises towards the end of the projection period.”

The quest for a new minimum wage has been a persistent issue between Organised Labour and the government since the year began, aimed at alleviating the strains of the challenging economic climate.

Recent reforms in Nigeria, such as the removal of fuel subsidies and the unification of the foreign exchange market, have further escalated the cost of living, intensifying the urgency for wage adjustments.

While labour leaders push for a substantial increase from N30,000 to N615,000 as the minimum wage for lowest-ranked workers, indications suggest the tripartite committee may propose a more modest figure of N70,000.

Concerns loom over the sufficiency of the government’s allocated N6.48 trillion for personnel costs in the 2024 budget, with the IMF highlighting potential deficits exacerbated by implicit subsidies and rising debt interest expenses.

However, the Finance Minister Wale Edun had announced the government’s intention to decrease the budget deficit from 6.1 percent in the 2023 budget to 3.8 percent in the current appropriation.

In a bold move, Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has announced plans to launch a comprehensive inquiry into the governance conducted by his predecessor, Nyesom Wike.

The announcement came on Monday, following the swearing-in ceremony of Dagogo Israel Iboroma, SAN, as the new Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of the state.

Governor Fubara stressed the critical timing of Iboroma’s appointment amidst political tensions and revealed intentions to establish a judicial panel of inquiry to scrutinize governance practices predating his administration.