By David Torough, Abuja

The Federal Government has inaugurated a new Board of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC), charging its members to promote fair remuneration, higher productivity and industrial harmony in Nigeria.

Speaking at the inauguration in Abuja on Friday, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, described the event as significant, coming at a critical stage of Nigeria’s economic transformation under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Akume said the administration was implementing far-reaching reforms aimed at restoring economic stability, improving workers’ welfare, strengthening productivity and laying the foundation for sustainable and inclusive growth.

He said the NSIWC had a strategic role to play because its responsibilities cover salary structures, productivity, job evaluation and compensation matters, all of which have direct implications for workers’ welfare, industrial relations and government finances.

According to him, the new Board must strike a balance between fair and decent remuneration, improved productivity, affordability and the wider economic realities confronting the country.

He noted that the inauguration came at an important time following the implementation of the new National Minimum Wage framework, which has raised expectations among workers while increasing responsibilities for government and employers.

The SGF urged the Board to ensure that its recommendations are evidence-based, transparent, timely, equitable and fiscally responsible, supported by reliable data on wages, productivity, purchasing power and economic growth.

He also called for the promotion of a remuneration system that recognises skills, responsibility, innovation and productivity, while encouraging efficiency and accountability.
Akume stressed the need to strengthen the Commission’s digital and data capabilities and position it as a centre of excellence in compensation and productivity.

President Tinubu appointed Major General Junaid Bindawa (Rtd.) as Chairman of the new Board, alongside nine other members. Former Lagos member of the House of Representatives, Olajumoke Okoya-Thomas, was appointed Secretary of the Commission.

Other members include Dr. Ogbole Ene Lilian, Oladele Olatubosun and Yakubu Umar Barde, representing Benue, Oyo and Kaduna states respectively.

Dr. Mai Adamu Yau of Borno State, Ginika Florence Tor of Enugu State, Engineer Lawrence Okoh of Edo State, and Bello Moronke Iyabode of Kogi State were also appointed members.
Akume congratulated the chairman and members and urged them to justify the confidence reposed in them by providing “visionary, responsible and results-oriented leadership.”

In his acceptance speech, Bindawa thanked President Tinubu for the confidence placed in the new Board, assuring that its members would promote constructive engagement and work harmoniously with organised labour.

He acknowledged the weight of the Board’s responsibilities, particularly its mandate over salaries, wages, incomes and productivity, which he described as critical to workers’ welfare and the delivery of quality public services.

The new Board is expected to play a key role in shaping remuneration and productivity policies as the Federal Government continues to implement its economic reform agenda.

By Julius Tambaya, Abuja

Chief Leo Edochie, Nigeria’s number one celebrity golfer turned heads with a jaw-dropping appearance at The Shire Course, one of the iconic golf destinations in the United Kingdom.

It was all glitz and glamour as Edochie and a handful of his friends played an invitational at the prestigious course in the last weekend of July.

The Shire London is uniquely different in a number of ways. Unlike other conventional golf courses, it has six par threes, six par fours and six par fives. There are no two consecutive holes of the same par on this Course that prides itself as being “warm, unpretentious and friendly”.

As the only golf course in the United Kingdom designed by the legendary Seve Ballesteros, its signature feature is the Hole 18 with an S-shaped lake which is described as “one of the country’s most demanding closing holes”.

If the topic is golf, Chief Edochie will raise no eyebrows if you refer to him as an addict or fanatic. And that explains why his steadily-expanding, feel-good golf itinerary took him to The Shire London where he shone brightly, not necessarily by the number of birdies he returned but the significance of his message.

“It was a fantastic experience to play in such a high-profile course,” he says. “Though I had a solid round, it was not all about me. It’s about showing those kids in Port Harcourt, Enugu, Kaduna or Lagos that The Shire is not out of their reach.

“Yes, I am honoured to be adored as Nigeria’s celebrity golfer but my real goal is to inspire the next generation of golfers and enhance women’s participation in the sport in our country. If my round here in London makes one person to pick up golf, then I’m as excited as hitting an eagle on a difficult hole”.

But without a doubt, Leo brought swag and aura to the invitational at The Shire. His intimidating physique, bright apparels and trademark two-tone golf shoes were unmistakable on the fairways and left onlookers in awe. “Oh, that’s a lovely shot,” Edochie gleefully yelled after nicely scooping the ball from a greenside bunker.

The Celebrity golfer, who is also , a consummate professional and wealthy entrepreneur, playing golf is no more a hobby, it is an obsession spurred by a huge appetite to unlock the sport’s untapped potentials and provide the platform for nurturing future champions.

That explains why he continues to generate headlines for readily reaching his fat wallet to promote the game as well as offer substantial charitable contributions.

In no distant time, he will be hosting Celebrity Golfer Leo Edochie Charity Golf tournament which fits into his persona. True to his long-standing reputation for giving back to humanity, the proceeds from the event will be dedicated to charity.

The surge in celebrity participation in golf by Nigerians today reflects Leo’s impact, enhanced more by his leveraging the social media to share his experiences on and off the fairways as a way to promote the sport.

Yet, he has a new dream. He has expressed a burning desire to introduce Nigerians to the experience of watching golf tournaments live, replicating the spectator culture common in the developed countries and in the PGA events. Such fan engagement, according to Edochie, “will change the perception of golf, boost tourism and bring in more people into the game.”

As Chairman of Python Golf Club Open tournament, this former president of Port Harcourt Polo Club plans to use the next golf tournament in November to pilot the initiative of creating the spectator atmosphere.

According to Leo, “I’m deeply excited when I see other people following in my footsteps, not only by the way they dress but by also recording and airing their games.

“My next goal is to bring Nigerians to watch golf tournaments live, just like they watch football games. The merits are so much that we can’t afford to miss out on the foreseeable opportunities.”

However, the Shire experience did not obscure the primary reason of Chief Edochie’s London visit- proud father and mother were attending the graduation of their last son in the company of their other children and friends. All his 3 kids graduated from the same university of Reading in England.

Coming soon for the celebrity golfer is golf entrepreneurship and merchandising.
The golf community eagerly anticipates.

By Willie Adegbite

A video clip has placed Senator Francis Fadahunsi at the centre of a political firestorm. In it, he appears to use language that many have interpreted as a call to violence against members of the Accord Party.

The senator insists the footage was edited and that his words were metaphorical, but the controversy has already taken hold. His political opponents have demanded his arrest, while the National Human Rights Commission has called for his suspension, arrest and investigation.

But in the rough-and-tumble of Nigerian politics, context matters. This controversy is about more than an incautious word.

It also raises questions about the political environment in which the remarks were made and the allegations of violence that Fadahunsi says prompted them.

It is important to state clearly that Senator Fadahunsi’s remarks do not reflect the position of the All Progressives Congress or its governorship candidate in Osun State. The APC has never subscribed to do-or-die politics. Its candidate is not an advocate of violence or political thuggery. The party believes in competitive elections conducted within the boundaries of law and civility. That distinction matters because the temptation in partisan politics is to treat the words of one member as the doctrine of the entire party. That is not the case here.

Let us first deal with the offending word.

In the language of Nigerian political campaigning, “kill” can sometimes be used as visceral hyperbole for “overwhelm”, “defeat” or “send packing”. It is hardly elegant, but it is not invariably literal. In Yoruba political speech especially, vivid language is often used to describe electoral domination.

The danger is that such language can be heard differently when the political atmosphere is already tense.

Fadahunsi’s defence is that his words were taken out of context and that he was speaking metaphorically about defeating his opponents at the polls. That explanation deserves to be heard and tested against the full recording. But even if his intention was entirely political, the choice of words was reckless in an environment where allegations of violence are already circulating.

That is the uncomfortable middle ground in this controversy.

We should neither assume that the senator intended physical violence simply because a word was used, nor pretend that the word was harmless because it may have been metaphorical.

The more important question is what prompted the outburst.

Fadahunsi has alleged that as many as 30 APC members were killed in Osun within a month, while other reports have put his broader claim at more than 40 people killed in Osun East over the past year. These are serious allegations, not established facts, and they require verification.

But they should not be dismissed because they come from a politician currently facing scrutiny.

If even a fraction of these allegations is substantiated, Osun has a serious security problem that deserves the attention of the police and other relevant authorities. The families of anyone killed in political violence deserve investigation and justice, irrespective of party affiliation.

This is where the controversy risks becoming distorted. The attention devoted to Fadahunsi’s words should not prevent the authorities from examining the allegations of violence that he says formed their backdrop.

The two issues can be addressed at the same time.

The senator’s language can be investigated, while the alleged killings can also be investigated. One does not cancel out the other.

Indeed, this is precisely where responsible governance matters. When security agencies fail to provide timely and credible information about incidents of violence, suspicion grows and political narratives quickly fill the vacuum. Viral videos then become evidence, arguments become accusations and every incident is interpreted through partisan lenses.

Fadahunsi’s outburst is therefore not necessarily the cause of the tension in Osun. It may also be a symptom of a political environment in which fear and recrimination have become increasingly prominent.

That does not excuse his language.

Public office carries a responsibility to choose words carefully, particularly during an election. A politician who knows that his supporters are agitated should be cooling tempers rather than giving opponents reason to believe that violence has been sanctioned. The APC and its candidate have consistently demonstrated that they understand this responsibility. They reject the language of violence and have called for peaceful engagement.

Fadahunsi must therefore face the consequences of his words. The police investigation should run its course, and if it establishes that he genuinely incited violence, the law should take its course.

But fairness requires the authorities to follow the same principle in examining the allegations he has raised.

If people have been killed, their families deserve more than a political argument over a viral video. They deserve to know what happened and who was responsible.

This is also where Fadahunsi himself has an opportunity to help de-escalate the situation.

He should make it unequivocally clear that whatever metaphor he intended, he does not support physical violence against Accord members or anybody else. He should urge his supporters to settle the contest at the ballot box and cooperate fully with the authorities investigating both his remarks and the incidents he has cited.

That would be more than damage control.

It would be responsible leadership.

The same standard should apply across the political divide. Nobody should be allowed to use the language of violence as political mobilisation, just as nobody should be allowed to use allegations of violence selectively for partisan advantage. For the APC and its candidate, the path is clear. The party must continue to demonstrate through its conduct and messaging that it rejects violence and upholds the principles of democratic contestation.

Osun does not need competing narratives of victimhood. It needs credible facts.

The coming election is too important for the state to become trapped in a cycle in which every inflammatory statement produces another accusation, every accusation produces another counter-accusation and the underlying violence remains insufficiently investigated.

Fadahunsi may have chosen the wrong words. He should own that responsibility. But the controversy should not end there.

The real test is whether Osun’s political leaders and institutions can look beyond the viral clip and address the conditions that made such language possible in the first place.

An election should settle political disagreements with votes. It should not leave citizens wondering whether the people seeking their mandate are prepared to protect them from the consequences of their own rhetoric.

That is the responsibility Fadahunsi now carries.

And it is a responsibility that extends far beyond him.

Dr Adegbite contributed this piece from Abuja.