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Malawi Mourns As Vice President Chilima Killed in Plane Crash
Malawi’s Vice President Saulos Chilima has tragically died in a plane crash along with nine other passengers, President Lazarus Chakwera announced Tuesday.
“The search and rescue operation I ordered to find the missing plane that carried our vice president and nine others has been completed.
The plane has been found. And I am deeply saddened and sorry to inform you that it has turned out to be a terrible tragedy,” Chakwera said.
The aircraft went missing after failing to land at Mzuzu International Airport, about 380 km (240 miles) north of the capital, Lilongwe.
The wreckage was located in the Chikangawa Forest.
“The plane was found completely destroyed,” Chakwera reported, adding, “Words cannot describe how heartbreaking this is.”
Chakwera paid tribute to Chilima, describing him as “a good man, a devoted father and husband, and a patriotic citizen who served his country with distinction.”
Chilima, 51, had just returned to Malawi on June 6 after attending the Korea-Africa Summit in Seoul.
The Malawi Defence Force deployed drones and at least 200 soldiers to search for the plane in the Chikangawa Forest, where its last signals were received.
Rescue operations were hampered by bad weather, according to Force Commander Paul Valentino Phiri.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested Aisha Achimugu.
The managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Felak Concept Group was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
Achimugu was taken in around 5am on Tuesday after arriving in Nigeria from London.
More to follow…
The Federal Government has revealed its intention to begin disbursing the outstanding five months’ wage award arrears, amounting to N35,000, to workers immediately after the April 2025 salary payments. The arrears will be paid in monthly instalments until fully settled.
This information was shared in a statement on Monday by Mr. Bawa Mokwa, Director of Press and Public Relations at the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), and reported by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Mokwa clarified that while the Federal Government had previously paid five months of the wage award in instalments, an additional five months remained unpaid. He confirmed that the outstanding arrears would now be addressed through equal monthly payments of N35,000.
He stated that the first payment will be made right after the distribution of April 2025 salaries, with additional payments following each month until the total arrears are cleared.
“The Federal Government is set to pay the outstanding five months’ N35,000 wage award arrears to workers,” he noted.
According to the report from NAN, Mokwa emphasized that the arrears would be paid in monthly instalments of N35,000 over a five-month period, with the initial payment occurring post-April 2025 salary disbursement.
This wage award is part of the Federal Government’s initiative to mitigate the effects of economic reforms, including the removal of fuel subsidies and other fiscal adjustments.
Mokwa reiterated the government’s dedication to fulfilling all agreements related to employee compensation and welfare, describing these actions as essential for enhancing productivity and efficiency within the public sector.
### Key Information
In 2023, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) proposed a wage award to support federal workers amid the challenges posed by fuel subsidy removal. In response, the Federal Government introduced a N35,000 wage award in September 2023 as a temporary relief measure for employees on lower salary scales, addressing the economic pressures from subsidy removal and currency reforms.
While partial payments were made between late 2023 and early 2024, delays in later months raised concerns among labor unions. In 2024, after further negotiations, the Federal Government approved an increase in the national minimum wage to N70,000, as part of broader strategies to tackle rising living costs.
The recent announcement regarding the resumption of outstanding wage award payments is expected to honor the Federal Government’s previous commitments.
A group of lawyers under the banner of the Guardian of Democracy and Rule of Law staged a massive protest at the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja on Monday, demanding a judicial inquiry into the tenure of Mele Kolo Kyari, the former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL).
The protesters, led by Barrister Benjamin Theophilus, submitted a petition alleging widespread corruption, tax evasion, abuse of office, and misappropriation of public funds during Kyari’s leadership.
The petition highlighted several contentious issues, including inflated costs of refinery rehabilitation contracts, fraudulent crude oil allocations, mismanagement of the AKK Gas Pipeline Project, fuel subsidy fraud, and questionable crude-backed loans.
According to the petition, NNPCL under Kyari spent over $4 billion on rehabilitating the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries, far exceeding an initial private-sector proposal of $1 billion for all three facilities.
“Kyari is alleged to have collaborated with consultants and contractors to conceal the actual cost of contracts and evade taxes,” the petition stated, noting that the refineries remain inefficient despite the expenditure.
The lawyers also accused Kyari of overseeing the diversion of crude oil allocations under the pretext of “pipeline security” at a rate of 80,000 barrels per day, with no transparent accountability mechanisms.
The $5 billion AKK Gas Pipeline Project was similarly flagged for irregularities in contract awards and execution, with little progress despite significant funding.
Further allegations include fuel subsidy fraud, with NNPCL reportedly increasing petroleum imports in 2020 during a global decline in fuel consumption due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The petition also criticised crude-backed loans totalling $21.565 billion since 2019, which it claimed disadvantaged Nigeria by ceding trading profits to international traders.
The protesters called for a judicial commission to investigate Kyari’s tenure, probe payments to refinery contractors, and examine past audit failures.
They also urged the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to investigate suspected tax evasion and fraudulent declarations, while advocating for the recovery of any misappropriated public funds.
The Federal Ministry of Finance has yet to respond to the petition, and NNPCL officials were unavailable for comment at the time of reporting.