Nigerian and Indonesian companies have signed business agreements worth a combined $10m to strengthen trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

The Indonesian Ambassador to Nigeria, Bambang Suharto, disclosed this on Thursday during a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony involving Nigerian investors and their Indonesian counterparts at the 2026 Trade Expo Indonesia.

The agreements were among a broader collection of business commitments at the expo, where 55 memoranda of understanding involving Indonesian companies and international business partners were signed.

The participating countries included Nigeria, Australia, Canada, Chile, Germany, Hungary, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Romania, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.

The event had present ambassadors, diplomatic representatives, international buyers and business partners.

The occasion was highly praised as one of the significant moments of the 2026 Trade Expo Indonesia which kickstarted and was declared opened on Wednesday.

Suharto speaking to Journalists described the agreements involving Nigerian and Indonesian companies as a historic development, expressing optimism that the partnerships would expand bilateral business relations and deliver economic benefits to both countries.

“Today we are witnessing a very historical moment for this year. We have two companies who are having signing ceremony, the MOU, a business contract with their counterpart in Indonesia. So, the amount reached in total 10 million USD or 5 million USD each,” the ambassador said.

He explained that the agreements covered the dental equipment and pharmaceutical sectors, describing them as important areas with significant implications for public welfare.

The ambassador urged Indonesian businesses to look beyond commercial trading and explore investment opportunities in Nigeria, noting that some Indonesian companies already operating in the country had demonstrated the benefits of long-term business engagement.

“I mentioned that there are now some Indonesian companies operating in Nigeria. So, they are a good example. For so many years, they have been doing business in Nigeria, creating job opportunities for the locals and also absorb the local resources that can be produced in their factory and bring, of course, for the benefit of Nigeria as well,” he said.

Suharto encouraged Nigerian companies to invest in Indonesia, highlighting the countries’ large populations, available human resources and investment potential.

“We have 280 million people and Nigeria has 230 million people. In both countries, we have a demographic bonus. So, we have also attractive manpower, which is good for investment,” he said.

He added that Indonesia remained open to Nigerian businesses seeking opportunities in its market.

One of the Nigerian investors who signed an agreement, Ralph-Michael Simon-Michael of Irad Investment Limited, said his company had partnered with Indonesian firm PT Winn Appliance to introduce domestic gas appliances into the Nigerian market.

Simon-Michael, whose company is headquartered in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, said the partnership was aimed at making the products accessible to ordinary Nigerians through established distribution channels.

“So, we’re based in Port Harcourt, our headquarters. So, we’re an oil and gas servicing company. We’ve come to Indonesia to partner with a company called Win Appliances. So, we’re going to be bringing gas, domestic appliances into Nigeria,” he said.

He explained that the products would be targeted at everyday consumers and distributed nationwide through established retail outlets and cash-and-carry distributors.

“The appliances that we’re bringing are for domestic use, for the everyday consumer. So, the everyday man can essentially afford these appliances that we’re bringing in,” he said.

Simon-Michael named Shoprite, Next cash-and-carry distributors among other outlets, through which he said the products would be distributed across Nigeria.

He said the company’s long-term plan was to establish a factory in Indonesia, and expand its operations into other African countries.

The investment agreements also formed part of broader efforts to deepen trade relations between Nigeria and Indonesia, according to Sheye Oyetade, Executive Director of Invest Nigeria, who said the Nigerian delegation was working to translate existing cooperation agreements into practical business opportunities.

Oyetade said the delegation’s participation was linked to the memorandum of understanding between Invest Nigeria and the Developing Eight (D-8) countries, a grouping of countries that includes Nigeria and Indonesia.

“We actually came to service our Memorandum of Understanding with D8 to make sure that trade is actually seamless between Nigeria and Indonesia,” he said.

He added that economic reforms in Nigeria had created opportunities for cross-border trade and investment, while the country’s growing population offered businesses access to a large consumer market.

“The signing of the MOU is key, simply because, whether you like it or not, Africa is becoming the major darling of the world in terms of the market,” Oyetade said.

He projected that Nigeria’s population would rise to about 400 million by 2050, arguing that the expansion would increase its importance as a destination for investment and consumer goods.

“So, where the people are, there the market is. So, that’s exactly what we are doing here today,” he said.

The agreements are expected to strengthen commercial links between businesses in both countries, with participants expressing hope that the partnerships would encourage further investment, job creation and the exchange of products and expertise.

Source: punchng.com

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The Federal Government and the Nigeria Labour Congress have disagreed over when negotiations for a new national minimum wage should begin, with organised labour challenging the government’s interpretation of the law and demanding that preparations commence immediately.

The disagreement followed an exchange of letters between the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Muhammad Dingyadi, and NLC President, Joe Ajaero, over the timetable for reviewing the N70,000 minimum wage signed into law in July 2024.

In a letter dated 13 October, 2026, Ajaero rejected the government’s position that a fresh review would be premature, arguing that the statutory timetable under the original National Minimum Wage Act, 2019, remained relevant despite the 2024 amendment.

He said the government should begin the process by calling for nominations and inaugurating the National Minimum Wage Tripartite Committee, which brings together the government, organised labour and employers.

“The time is now. The appropriate time is now,” Ajaero wrote in the letter shared on Thursday, arguing that delaying the process would worsen the hardship facing Nigerian workers.

His response came a day after Dingyadi, in a letter dated October 12, acknowledged receipt of a communique issued after a joint meeting of the NLC’s Central Working Committee and National Executive Council.

The minister said the current minimum wage would become due for review on 1 June, 2027, and argued that commencing another review barely two years after the implementation of the N70,000 wage would be premature and disruptive to industrial relations.

The latest exchange comes amid growing pressure from the labour movement over the rising cost of living and the erosion of workers’ purchasing power.

In an Independence Day statement on 1 October, the country’s biggest labour union demanded an immediate reduction in petrol prices, a nationwide wage award and the commencement of negotiations for a new national minimum wage. The statement, signed by Ajaero and titled “Our Hope Depends on the Choices We Make and the Actions We Take”, linked rising transportation, food, rent and education costs to the declining value of workers’ earnings.

Workers also called for the implementation of tax relief measures agreed upon with the government in October 2023, arguing that the union should not continue to bear the burden of rising living costs without additional support.

The NLC demanded that petrol prices be reduced to the levels prevailing when the current minimum wage was signed into law in 2024, negotiations for a new wage begin before the end of October, and outstanding agreements with health and public sector workers be implemented.

It warned that failure to meet the demands within the stipulated period would compel it to take further action as directed by its relevant organs.

Against this backdrop, the minister’s October 12 letter rejected the call for an immediate review, prompting Ajaero’s response the following day.

The NLC president argued that the 2019 law, signed on 18 April of that year, had envisaged a review by April 2024. He said the 2024 amendment did not erase that original timetable, adding that a new wage should take effect by 17 April, 2027, under the timeline advanced by the union.

He said negotiations should begin at least six months before the relevant deadline to allow time for preparatory steps and avoid the accumulation of arrears. On that basis, the NLC said the process should commence by 17 October, 2026.

The union maintained that it was not asking the government to implement a new wage immediately but to begin the administrative and negotiation process required to reach an agreement.

Dingyadi, however, said the National Minimum Wage Act, 2019, as amended by the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act, 2024, provided for a review every three years.

Source: punchng.com

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A former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has defended former President Olusegun Obasanjo over the liquidation of Nigeria Airways, insisting that the airline’s collapse resulted from years of mismanagement, corruption and mounting debts before Obasanjo returned to power in 1999.

Fani-Kayode, who served as the Minister of Aviation in 2006, said Obasanjo inherited a virtually collapsed airline and had little choice but to liquidate it in 2004.

He stated this in a post on his X account on Thursday while responding to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, who had earlier accused former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of hypocrisy over his comments on Nigeria’s economic hardship and insecurity.

In a post published on Wednesday, Keyamo accused the administration in which Atiku served as vice-president of liquidating Nigeria Airways in September 2004, leaving thousands of workers without jobs and their pensions and gratuities unpaid.

The minister said the outstanding entitlements had remained unresolved for years, claiming that some former workers died while waiting for their benefits.

He added that President Bola Tinubu had approved and released N36bn to settle the outstanding obligations, with beneficiaries already receiving payment alerts.

Keyamo also accused Atiku of taking credit for the achievements of the Obasanjo administration when convenient while distancing himself from controversial decisions.

Responding to the debate, Fani-Kayode said it was unfair to blame Obasanjo for the airline’s collapse, arguing that its decline had begun long before his return to office.

“In fairness to President Obasanjo the Nigeria Airways ‘mess’, as you have described it, was established before he came back to power in 1999.

“And it was indeed a mess but it was not of Obasanjo’s making!

“He met it there after he was sworn in and what he found broke his heart,” Fani-Kayode wrote.

He recalled that when Obasanjo left office as military Head of State in 1979, Nigeria Airways had 32 functional aircraft, experienced pilots and crew members, a first-class management team and an accountable board of directors.

He described the airline at the time as “the pride of the nation”.

However, Fani-Kayode said the situation had deteriorated considerably by 1999, when Obasanjo returned as a civilian president.

“By the time Obasanjo came back to power in 1999, 20 years later, there was only one plane left and it was not functional.

“The rest had vanished together with virtually all of the company’s assets,” he said.

According to him, successive management teams and boards contributed to the airline’s decline through corruption and mismanagement between 1979 and 1999.

He said the company’s liquidation followed chronic insolvency, operational collapse and unsuccessful attempts to revive its operations, including privatisation advice from the International Finance Corporation, which later withdrew.

Fani-Kayode maintained that the Obasanjo administration was justified in refusing to continue providing public funds to the struggling airline.

“This is why Obasanjo liquidated it in 2004 and I believe that he had no choice,” he said.

“There was nothing left to save even though it was a painful decision given the fact that he was one of those that had done so much for that company when he was Military Head of State.”

The former minister said the payment of outstanding pensions became a major issue following the liquidation.

He recalled that a committee chaired by the then Head of Service of the Federation, Yayale Ahmed, recommended that funds be released to pay the pensioners.

Fani-Kayode said he subsequently presented a memo to the Federal Executive Council in 2006, advocating the payment of the outstanding entitlements.

However, he said the proposal was rejected because some cabinet members believed former management teams and board members were responsible for the airline’s destruction and did not deserve pensions.

“I did not share that view but sadly I and those that supported me were in a minority and we lost the debate,” he said.

He added that the matter was revisited under the administration of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, which paid most of the pensioners, while the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari also made payments.

Fani-Kayode commended Keyamo for ensuring that the remaining pension obligations were settled under the Tinubu administration.

“It is gratifying that under your leadership the remainder of the pensions have been paid. I only wish we had done that when we were in office,” he wrote.

“The pensioners suffered immensely over the years. I have always maintained that paying them was the right thing to do.”

He also referred to Atiku’s position during the Federal Executive Council deliberations on the pension payments but declined to disclose details of the former vice-president’s stance.

“As for His Excellency Waziri @atiku I know what side of the divide he was during that debate in council but I will not share that publicly because whatever decision was finally taken was a collective one,” he said.

Fani-Kayode added that members of the administration collectively bore responsibility for the decision and its consequences.

He concluded by commending Keyamo for completing the payment of the outstanding entitlements owed to former Nigeria Airways workers.

Source: punchng.com

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