Nigeria Declares Tuesday Public Holiday for Independence Day Celebration
<p>Nigeria has declared Tuesday, October 1, as a public holiday to celebrate the nation's 64th Independence Day.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.arise.tv/nigeria-declares-tuesday-public-holiday-for-independence-day-celebration/">Nigeria Declares Tuesday Public Holiday for Independence Day Celebration</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.arise.tv">Arise News</a>.</p>
Nigeria’s federal government has declared Tuesday, 1st of October 2024, as a public holiday to celebrate the nation’s 64th Independence Day.
The Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who made the declaration on behalf of the Federal Government, congratulated Nigerians at home and abroad on this occasion .
Tunji-Ojo commended the patient and hardworking of Nigerian men and women, stating that their sacrifices will not be in vain.
The Minister while aligning himself with the theme for the anniversary, reiterated the need for Nigerians to reflect on the labour of our heroes past and be inspired for the tasks ahead, realizing that a Nigeria of our dream can only be built when we unite.
Tunji-Ojo while wishing Nigerians a Happy Independence Day Anniversary, urged them to continue to be steadfast in nation-building.
Every great love story follows a timeline: one unforgettable moment, the sweet romance that follows, and the intentionality that makes it long-lasting. Once they all…
<p><img width="640" height="417" src="https://www.naijanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/TANKERS.jpg" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="JUST IN: Impending Fuel Scarcity As Hoodlums Block Tanker Drivers' Access To Depot" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" srcset="https://www.naijanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/TANKERS.jpg 640w, https://www.naijanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/TANKERS-300x195.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></p>
<h2>The Bola Tinubu-led government is set to meet with the <a href="https://www.naijanews.com/topic/narto/">Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners</a> (NARTO) leadership to avert the planned suspension of operations.</h2>
<p>Recall that the association had, in a letter dated February 15, 2024, addressed to the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), <strong><a href="https://www.naijanews.com/2024/02/16/fuel-scarcity-looms-as-tanker-drivers-threaten-fresh-strike/">directed</a></strong> all its members to withdraw their petroleum trucks from product-loading activities from Monday, February 19, 2024.</p>
<p>In the letter, NARTO said the high freight rates and cost of operations are responsible for their plan to park their vehicles and stop lifting fuel beginning today.</p>
<p>NARTO’s President, <strong>Yusuf Othman</strong>, said his members and oil marketers had been meeting since Saturday based on the orders of the Federal Government.</p>
<p>Othman disclosed that the downstream regulator and the Ministry of Petroleum would meet with NARTO members and other parties today in Abuja to sort out the issues.</p>
<p>He stated that oil marketers and his executives met about six times in the last two days to avert a threat to halt the lifting of petroleum products in the country.</p>
<p>Othman added that NARTO members are not going on strike but withdrawing their services because they are not employees but business people.</p>
<p>He said: “<em>We are discussing with the marketers, and they have proposed some increase in the transportation arrangement, and right now, we are discussing with our executives with a view to consider the matter.</em></p>
<p><em>“But you know this has nothing to do with the government because the government no longer has a hand in the payment of transportation for products. It is purely for marketers that we provide the services to</em>."</p>
<p>Othman said the letter to the Petroleum Minister, Department of State Services (DSS) and other Federal Government agencies was to alert the government to intervene.</p>
<p>He said: <em>“Yes, it was for them to intervene, not that they should pay, at least for them to see reasons why they need to talk to the other parties because the government naturally has to be an arbiter.</em></p>
<p><em>“In a free market, the government cannot just fold its arms and say everybody should do whatever they like. And this is the time we are oppressed downstream because most of the marketers have increased their pump prices, but they have not increased our freight rates.</em></p>
<p><em>“So since the time we issued the letters, we’ve met with the marketers about four to five times, and we are meeting later this (Sunday) evening. And I do hope we will be able to conclude before Monday, otherwise, we will withdraw our services.</em></p>
<p><em>“It is not a strike, because we are not employees, we are business people, we will just withdraw our services. But I don’t want to believe that it will not be resolved before then because everybody is aware of their responsibilities."</em></p>
<p>On whether NARTO was getting the desired response from marketers, Othman replied, “<em>We’ve met almost six times. Today (Sunday) we met three times, yesterday (Saturday) we met three times and we are going to meet again later this (Sunday) evening.</em></p>
<p><em>“The government has directed them that they must negotiate with us, because they have seen reasons why we have to get some improvement in our freight rates, in view of the high operational cost. So there is hope.”</em></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.naijanews.com/2024/02/19/tinubu-govt-to-meet-narto-members-over-fresh-strike/">Tinubu Govt To Meet NARTO Members Over Fresh Strike</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.naijanews.com">Naija News</a>.</p>
Ed Miliband, Britain’s Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero leaves 10 Downing Street after a cabinet meeting in London, Tuesday, Feb. 10,…
