By Felix Umande

The House of Representatives has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to immediately comply with judgements of the Federal High Court, Makurdi Division, directing the restoration of Njiriv and Yonov State Constituencies in Gwer East Local Government Area of Benue State.

The resolution followed a motion moved by the member representing Gwer East/Gwer West Federal Constituency, Arc. Dr. Asema Achado, during plenary on Thursday, October 15, 2026, presided over by Speaker Rt. Hon. Dr. Tajudeen Abbas.

Presenting the motion, Achado cited judgements delivered on July 2 and July 7, 2026, on the restoration of Njiriv and Yonov constituencies and called on the House to compel INEC to give effect to the decisions and conduct elections in line with court orders and electoral laws.

He said restoring the constituencies would expand political participation, enhance access to legislative representation and strengthen democratic inclusion for people of Gwer East.

The motion warned that failure to implement the judgements could undermine the rule of law and the supremacy of the Constitution, particularly Section 1(1) and (3) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

The House accordingly resolved that INEC should fully and immediately comply with the judgements in Suit Nos. FHC/MKD/CS/07/2026 and FHC/MKD/CS/235/2025 by conducting elections in the restored constituencies.

It mandated the Clerk of the House to transmit a certified true copy of the resolution to the Chairman of INEC, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Governor of Benue State for necessary action.

The House also mandated its Committee on Electoral Matters to liaise with INEC to ensure full implementation and report back within four weeks for further legislative action.

By Felix Umande

The Catholic Diocese of Otukpo has announced the kidnap of one of its priests, Rev. Fr. John Inalegwu Otache, with the police confirming a rescue operation is underway.

Fr. Otache, Parish Priest of St. Margaret’s Parish, Ajegbe-Awume, was abducted on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, while returning home from Otukpo along Otobi-Amejo–Ajegbe Road in Ohimini Local Government Area of Benue State.

In a statement, the Diocesan Chancellor, Rev. Fr. Joseph Aboyi Itodo, said Bishop Most Rev. Michael Ekwoyi Apochi was deeply pained by the development and has called for prayers for the priest’s quick and safe release.

“It is with great sadness that we write to notify you of the kidnap of one of our priests, Rev. Fr. John Inalegwu Otache… He was going home from Otukpo when he ran into the kidnappers,” Fr. Itodo said.

“We commend our brother, Fr. John, and all those in the kidnappers’ den throughout the country to the efficacious intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary for their speedy and safe release,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Benue State Police Command confirmed the abduction on Friday in Makurdi.

Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Aondogu Orchia, said the command has commenced full investigation and efforts were ongoing to rescue the priest.

By Nick Ibe, Abuja

Timing has become a central issue in the yet-to-commence wage enhancement talks between the Federal Government and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) as labour calls for nominations and immediate negotiations while government insists that June is the time to start the ball rolling for talks on the new wage suggesting the new wage starts when it was signed into law.

In other words, while labour wants the negotiations started to meet the June 1, 2026 date, government is looking at it with different lenses: counting three years from when the present wage bill was signed into law on July 29, 2024,

To labour, the interpretation of the National Minimum Wage Act, 2019, as amended in 2024, with the worsening cost-of-living crisis, has eroded the purchasing power of workers earning the N70,000 minimum wage.

In a letter dated October 13, 2026, addressed to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Dingyadi, and signed by its president, Joe Ajaero, NLC demanded the immediate commencement of the renegotiation process, including the call for nominations and inauguration of a tripartite committee.

The congress said, statutorily, negotiations should commence by October 17, 2026.

The demand followed the minister’s letter of October 12, 2026, rejecting labour’s call for an early review, arguing that commencing negotiations barely two years into the implementation of the present wage would be premature, inconsistent with the law and disruptive to the industrial relations system.

The October 12 letter by the NLC to the minister was the communiqué of its recent National Executive Council (NEC), where it made its demands to the Federal Government on the plight of Nigerian workers and the need for the government to take action.

The labour minister said the National Minimum Wage Act provided for a review every three years, adding that the N70,000 minimum wage would become due for review on June 1, 2027.

He noted that President Bola Tinubu assented to the present wage on July 29, 2024, following negotiations involving the Federal Government, organised labour and the organised private sector, resulting in an increase of more than 133 per cent from the previous N30,000.

The government also cited efforts to secure compliance with the existing wage by state governments and private employers, alongside interventions under the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative, food security measures and other social support programmes, as part of measures to address workers’ economic difficulties.

It maintained that the government remained committed to tripartism, decent work and workers’ welfare, assuring the NLC that a National Minimum Wage Tripartite Committee would be convened at the appropriate time.

The minister urged the congress to sustain constructive engagement with the government to preserve industrial peace and harmony.

However, NLC faulted the government’s interpretation of the law, arguing that preparations for negotiations should begin before the present wage framework expires.

It warned that postponing preparations until the existing framework expires could delay the outcome of negotiations and worsen the economic hardship facing workers.

The NLC also rejected the government’s reliance on the reported 133 per cent wage increase and its intervention programmes as evidence that workers were receiving meaningful relief.

According to the congress, the increase from N30,000 to N70,000 has since been eroded by the devaluation of the naira and rising living costs, which it attributed largely to the government’s macroeconomic policies, particularly increases in petrol prices.

It said workers were struggling to afford transportation, food, shelter, healthcare and education, arguing that the present wage was no longer sufficient to meet basic household needs.

The union further argued that the CNG initiative had been undermined by inadequate infrastructure and a shortage of promised gas and vehicle conversion kits, limiting its capacity to cushion the effect of higher transport costs.

Consequently, the NLC demanded immediate economic interventions, including implementation of the tax relief agreed upon in 2023, payment of wage awards to workers and a reduction in petrol prices to the level prevailing when the present minimum wage was signed into law in 2024.

It also urged the Federal Government to implement the settlement terms with the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) and address the demands of the Joint Public Sector Negotiating Council (JPSNC).

While acknowledging the Ministry of Labour’s prompt response to its earlier resolutions, the congress said an acknowledgement without concrete timelines and immediate relief measures amounted to rhetoric.

Labour urged government to act expeditiously, warning that continued delays in the minimum wage negotiation process and the absence of direct economic relief would deepen the hardship confronting Nigerian workers.