Federal civil servants have issued a stern warning to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, demanding the immediate payment of outstanding wage awards and implementation of a long-awaited 40 per cent peculiar allowance or risk industrial action.

The Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC) accused the Federal Government of failing to fulfil key welfare commitments to workers despite recent assurances that savings from the removal of fuel subsidy had been used to meet salary obligations.

SEE MORE: Tinubu Removes Wale Edun as Finance Minister, Appoints Oyedele

In a letter dated July 31, 2026, the council gave the minister until August 11, 2026, to meet with its leadership and resolve the lingering issues, warning that failure to do so could provoke what it described as the “wrath of Nigerian workers.”

The letter, jointly signed by National Chairman Benjamin Uyanto and National Secretary Olowoyo Gbenga (Trade Union Side), alleged that the minister ignored two previous correspondences seeking action on the unpaid entitlements.

According to the council, the first letter, dated May 5, 2026, requested the payment of two months’ outstanding wage awards to federal public servants, while the second, dated July 9, 2026, demanded both the payment of the arrears and the implementation of the 40 per cent peculiar allowance approved by the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission.

The union expressed disappointment over what it described as the minister’s silence.

“To the surprise of the National leadership, none of the letters was responded to, let alone addressing the sensitive issues raised therein,” the letter stated.

The JNPSNC said the two unresolved issues requiring urgent government intervention are the implementation of the 40 per cent peculiar allowance, which was scheduled to take effect from May 1, 2026, and the payment of outstanding wage awards for March and April 2026.

The council requested an urgent meeting with the minister on or before August 11, 2026, at 10:00 a.m., either at his office or any venue convenient to him, expressing hope that the engagement would prevent a nationwide labour crisis.

“It is the expectation of the National leadership that this meeting will help to address the above stated critical and urgent outstanding issues in order to prevent palpable disquietedness and the brewing industrial crisis,” the letter read.

The union further accused the minister of deliberately delaying the payment of workers’ entitlements.

“The entire Public Servants have viewed the silence of the Honourable Minister of Finance, since his resumption as Minister of Finance, as a surreptitious way of compromising the necessary essence of directing the Accountant-General of the Federation to the effect of the full payment of two months outstanding Wage Award and the implementation of the circular on 40% peculiar allowance effective 1st May, 2026.”
It added:

“This request should be seen as a proactive approach from the National leadership to avert drastic actions from workers due to your insensitive silence to our two previous letters.”

The council disclosed that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC), and other relevant government officials had been notified of the development and the possibility of industrial action if the demands remain unresolved.

Saudi Arabia, Russia and five other key members of OPEC+ agreed in an online meeting Sunday to boost oil production by 188,000 barrels a day from September, against a backdrop of disruption caused by the Mideast war.

“The seven participating countries decided to implement a production adjustment of 188 thousand barrels per day,” they said in a joint statement.

The increase, decided by the key countries in the enlarged Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, was widely expected by analysts.

“OPEC+ has finished unwinding its voluntary cuts. The next challenge is managing the surplus that could emerge as export flows normalise,” said Jorge Leon, analyst at Rystad Energy.

He warned, however, that “today’s decision changes little in the near term because (the Strait of) Hormuz remains constrained. The real market impact will come when normal export flows resume.”

ALSO READ: Shell Bids Farewell to EVP Nigeria and Country Chair Marno, as Elohor Assumes Role

The Gulf countries have struggled to increase exports due to the near-paralysis of the Strait of Hormuz orchestrated by Iran during the war in the Middle East — despite a brief upswing in shipping traffic after a US-Iran memorandum of understanding was signed in June.

Many OPEC+ members cannot produce as much oil as their official targets allow due to a “decline in production capacity”, so increasing targets has become less meaningful, said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS.

The September increase, agreed by OPEC+ countries Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman, completes the unwinding of the second of the three production-cut packages introduced by the organisation.

“Having completed the restoration campaign, OPEC+ has little incentive to rush into further supply changes. Our base case is a fourth-quarter pause while the group prepares for the 2027 quota negotiations,” said Rystad Energy’s Leon.

“For now, geopolitics is masking the scale of the supply increase. That will become much clearer once export flows normalise,” he said.

It remains unclear when the group will actually be able to increase its oil volumes. Some member countries, such as Iraq, have expressed a desire to significantly boost production.

Russia, though, is confronted with repeated Ukrainian drone attacks on its oil infrastructure that have crimped production, currently hovering around nine million barrels per day — compared with a target of 9.8 million barrels per day.

OPEC+ “faces potentially difficult talks over new production quotas” starting next year following the September increase, according to analysts at DNB Carnegie.

Between late 2022 and 2023, OPEC+ became concerned that oil prices were falling, and agreed to cut oil production in three separate rounds, reducing total output by nearly six million barrels per day.

But Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, Oman and the United Arab Emirates — before the latter’s exit from the group on May 1 — then changed their strategy by gradually upping production starting in 2025.

“I don’t think cohesion is at risk at this very moment,” said Leon, warning, however, that the UAE’s withdrawal from the group in May has highlighted a weakness in this area.

Courtesy – AFP

Troops of the Nigerian Army have rescued an abducted senior military officer, Lt.-Col. Ofor Amobi, and a civilian, Mr. Ikechukwu Onwuanra, after a 10-day joint search-and-rescue operation in Enugu State.

A military operational report made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Saturday said the victims regained their freedom in the early hours of Friday after sustained pressure mounted on their abductors.

ALSO READ: Kidnappers Demand N200m to Free Abducted Kebbi High Court Judge

According to the report, the operation was carried out by troops of Sector 1 of Operation UDO KA, comprising personnel of the 82 Division Garrison, 103 Battalion (Reinforced), the Nigerian Navy Special Boat Service, and the 197 Special Forces Battalion.

The report stated that the troops, led by the Commander of the 82 Division Garrison, conducted intensive search operations across the forests and communities of Inyi, Awlaw, and Akpugo-Eze in Oji River Local Government Area of Enugu State.

The military said the breakthrough came at about 2:00 a.m. on Friday, when troops received intelligence from the Divisional Police Officer of the Inyi Division on the whereabouts of the victims.

Acting on the intelligence, the troops immediately launched a fighting patrol to the location, where the abducted officer and the civilian were found abandoned at the edge of a forest in Inyi.

According to the military, both victims had sustained gunshot wounds and were promptly evacuated to the 82 Division Medical Hospital for treatment and medical evaluation.

Preliminary interrogation revealed that the victims had been blindfolded, transported to an unknown location and later abandoned in a forest along the Enugu-Anambra border.

The report quoted the military as saying, “The victims attributed their rescue to the sustained pressure mounted by the joint troops, which denied the kidnappers freedom of movement and compelled them to abandon their captives.”

The military added that further details of the operation would be made available later.