The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Labour leader

  • Balarabe Musa, labour leader seek end to executive/legislature’s face-off

    FORMER Kaduna State Governor Balarabe Musa and Textile Union General Secretary Issa Aremu have urged members of the Federal Executive and National Assembly to stop their face-off and demonstrate statesmanship in the interest of Nigeria.

    They spoke yesterday in Kaduna, when Aremu, who is also a governorship aspirant under Kwara State Labour Party, visited Musa at his home.

    They said it was only if the two arms of government embrace “statesmanship” in place of “brinkmanship” that democratic process in Nigeria could become sustainable.

    Musa warned that Nigeria’s democratic government must not be allowed to fall like the Russian communist government.

    He said like the last Tuesday’s drama, the closure of the Russian parliament by the President was responsible for its government’s downfall. “And up till today, Russia has never being the same again, despite the fact that members of the Russian parliament were more matured than our own National Assembly members,” the elder statesman said.

    He called on Nigerians and those in position of authority to demonstrate high level of patriotism and statesmanship in the interest of the country’s democracy.

    The former governor endorsed Aremu’s candidacy for 2019 governorship election in Kwara State, citing his commitment to the struggle for social justice and growth in Nigeria.

    “I support Comrade Aremu 99 per cent. I would have supported him 100 per cent, if he runs on the platform of PRP. But Labour Party (LP) he chooses is part of progressive families committed to socialist transformation of Nigeria,” Musa said.

    The LP aspirant said he was inspired by the progressive record of Musa as the first executive governor of Kaduna State.

    “I am an ideological and political son of Alhaji Balarabe Musa right from my university days,” Aremu said.

    Also speaking at the unveiling of the 40th Anniversary Logo of Textile Union, the frontline labour leader said the “addictive conflicts” between the legislators and the Federal Executive would undermine good governance and democracy.

    He said Nigeria’s uninterrupted democracy in the last 20 years needed quality people, who would stand for fundamental state principles of good governance as contained in 1999 Constitution in place of what he called “politicians desperate for immediate pursuit of power and money”.

    Referring to the drama at the National Assembly following illegal prevention of some legislators on Tuesday, Aremu said the survival of the “smartest politicians” must give way to the survival of democratic process in Nigeria.

    He said democratic forces, who fought for democracy must not allow the democratic process undermined by “selfishness and cheap carpet crossing”.

    The labour leader said it was time Nigeria implemented the resolutions of 2014 conference with reference to code of conduct for political parties, political party office holders on carpet crossing.

  • We’re hungry, labour leader tells Fayose

    •Governor promotes 40,000 workers

    MAJORITY of workers in Ekiti State shunned yesterday  the May Day rally at the Oluyemi Kayode Stadium, Ado-Ekiti, the capital.

    The boycott was over the arrears of salaries owed them by the government.

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Chairman, Comrade Ade Adesanmi, delivered the message of the workers to Governor Ayo Fayose: The workers, he said, were hungry.

    He urged Fayose to pay the salaries arrears.

    The NLC chief demanded the payment of gratuities and pensions of retirees, many of whom he said were suffering.

    Adesanmi said: “Your Excellency, the state of welfare of workers in Ekiti State is begging for an urgent action.

    “I need not to tell you that workers are hungry, it is clearly written on the faces of all workers and this is negatively affecting our productivity and input both at home and in the office.

    “The aftermath effect of which has been extended to our children and other dependants like our aged parents.

    “It is pertinent to note that for state workers, their salaries between December 2017 and April 2018 is outstanding (five months). For workers in our subvented institutions, the last salary that was paid was October 2017 (six months).

    “The situation of workers in at the local government needs declaration of state of emergency; one wonders how they live up to their expectation as parents.

    “The last salary collected by them was August 2017 (eight months outstanding).”

    Fayose, however, assured that the outstanding salaries would be paid, saying: “Up to the last day of my departure, your interests will be protected.

    “I will not be a debtor of salaries, with God, all things are possible. I will not leave here a debtor of salaries.”

    Fayose at the occasion announced the clearance of the arrears of promotions for 2015, 2016 and 2017. A total of 40,100 workers benefited from the exercise.

     

  • Labour leader slams Fayose over N50 million donation to teachers

    Labour leader slams Fayose over N50 million donation to teachers

    The court-validated chairman of Trade Union Congress (TUC) in Ekiti State Kolawole Olaiya has accused Governor Ayo Fayose of playing politics with workers’ welfare.

    He was reacting to the donation of N50 million to teachers during the celebration of the World Teachers’ Day by the governor.

    Olaiya insisted the N50 million donated by Fayose to about 20,000 teachers was a “peanut” compared to the non-payment of their six- month arrears of salaries by his administration, which has left them impoverished.

    The TUC chief, in a chat with our reporter yesterday, maintained that it is criminal not to pay workers’ salaries and pensioners their benefits.

    Olaiya argued that rather than “political donation” of N50 million, such an amount should be channeled to payment of a good number of teachers to clear part of the arrears owed them.

    He said: “The N50 million, if properly invoked, can pay the arrears of some workers rather than the unsolicited donation.

    “What the teachers are saying is that the governor should pay them what the law prescribes and the right salaries they are entitled to.

    “If it is true that Fayose is a teacher-friendly governor, he should pay them the backlog of their salaries and not invoke politics or to rob them of their welfare.

    “Teachers/workers have responsibilities to their children in form of payment of school fees, feeding and clothing etc.”

    He added: “Every reasonable government should accord priority to the welfare of workers/teachers failing to do so will affect the progress of the society particularly the workers themselves and informal sector.

    “Playing politics with workers’ welfare is not the best particularly at this time of economic recession.

    “Fayose should stop playing politics with workers’ welfare because it is their statutory right and first line charge according to the 1999 Constitution.”

    A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State, Otunba Yinka Akerele, urged Fayose to pay the teachers their salaries and allowances as at when due.

    He also advocated regular promotions and development of a policy that would create opportunity for teachers to perform optimally.

    The APC stalwart faulted Fayose on his claims that the success achieved by the state candidates in this year’s National Examinations Council (NECO) was due to the policies put in place by his administration.

    Akerele attributed the first position claimed by Ekiti among the 36 states of the federation to the policies of the administration of former  Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, which he said introduced measures that made quality education available in the state.

  • Stop attacking Buhari, labour leader warns Fayose

    A trade unionist, Comrade Sunday Akintunde has warned Ekiti  State governor, Mr. Ayo Fayose to desist from attacking President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Akintunde urged Fayose to exhibit decorum in public speaking, noting that his utterances against President Buhari in recent times were reckless and alien to Yoruba culture which upholds respect to elders.

    “As Yorubas, we are raised to respect elders and have moral values of omoluabi, not to be rude, crude and disrespect our elders but to behave in decorous manner in the society. Fayose has desecrated the office of governor and shown that he is a talkative by rushing to the press on national issues without having something tangible to offer the people of Ekiti other than to rubbish the President.

    Akintunde, who is the former Chairman of National Union of Air Transport Employee (NUATE),Murtala Muhammed International Airport chapter, Ikeja, Lagos, urged Fayose to stop his campaign of calumny on the person of President Buhari.

    He said: “Governor Fayose should stop heating the polity due to his inability to give the people of Ekiti the dividends of democracy and the promises he made during his campaign before he became governor. He should stop attacking President Buhari and focus his energy and attention on how to move Ekiti forward rather than turning himself to a town crier.”

    He added: “ If corruption is the only epidemic or virus that President Buhari will eradicate in this country for four  years, about  80 per cent of our problems would have been solved because corruption is the major virus that is destroying all__ sectors of the economy.”

    Meanwhile a socio-political group, Ekiti New Project (EKNP) has faulted the appointment of a 72-year-old illiterate carpenter, Olatunde Ayeni, as the caretaker chairman of Moba Local Government Area of the state.

    The group at the end of its inaugural meeting held in Ado Ekiti on Friday described Ayeni’s appointment as a “big insult to the intelligence of the people of Ekiti who are renowned globally for education and scholarship.”

    In a statement by its scribe , Olufemi Aduloju,  EKNP said the action of Fayose has embarrassed the state and portrayed it in bad light.

    It said: “It is a big insult on the integrity of the people of Ekiti for the governor to have appointed an octogenarian, illiterate and a carpenter to hold in trust the hopes and lives of a whole local government. Ekiti people are known worldwide with what their sons and daughters have achieved in their chosen fields.Also, it is an internationally known fact that in our state, it is one house, one professor and now, what is the state being turned into? When a carpenter, an okada riders and market women_ are now being given sensitive political appointments, it is an insult_ on our collective entity.

    “We therefore wish to caution the governor to stop rubbishing the state and the integrity of its people in the comity of states. The governor should keep himself busy with the seriousness of governance and bring the desired development to the state. Enough of his jamborees,  jumping around without doing anything; enough of this insult on our collective integrity. Though, _it is a good omen to reward a loyal and committed member, but the issue of giving such a sensitive appointment to an illiterate is awkward, he could have been compensated with contract.

    “How can an illiterate control the local government’s allocation? The governor just wants to use the man to mismanage the resources of the local government. The appointment of the caretaker chairman is nothing but an insult to all the people of Moba council area especially the educated ones. The implication is that, education is nothing in Ekiti state according to the governor. I don’t know how somebody who can neither write nor read will be able to keep the oath of secrecy in governance, since he will have to hire an educated person as personal assistant or special assistant to interpret the contents of every file. Therefore, the secrecy in governance is already eroded in that system because such aide is not supposed to be privy to all government transactions according to the law. Ordinarily, Ayo Fayose himself should not have been governor if there is a system in place to measure competence and finesse, unfortunately, there is none. The appointment defines his government as directionless and rudderless.”__

    Education has no meaning anymore if we know in a ‘Fountain of Knowledge’, erroneously too, that we can get to such position without our skill. Let us therefore pray hard that we don’t have another North Korean leader in our land.”

  • Labour leader decries poor leadership

    The state chairman, Public Service Negotiating Council (PSNC), Comrade Chris Okoro has attributed poor leadership in the state chapter of the union as the greatest challenge which workers in the state experience.

    Speaking with reporters in Umuahia, Comrade Okoro, who is among the four

    contestants for the state NLC chairmanship position regretted that despite the fact that the state governor, Chief Theodore Orji has continued to demonstrate his love for workers, that union leaders have failed to reciprocate his good gesture.

    Comrade Okoro said the leadership of the union has failed the expectation of the entire workers’ union with their lackadaisical attitude in the affairs that concern workers in the state, stressing that it is not in the best interest of workers.

    He said: “Despite the good gesture of Governor Orji to things that concern workers in the state, the leadership of labour is so poor; the leadership has not been meeting the expectations of workers of the state.”

    The state PSNC boss revealed that his position as chairman of the council with eight affiliate unions is limited. He further emphasised that the major responsibility of any trade union such as the NLC is to ensure that its members receive their privileges and rights from the government.

    Comrade Okoro said: “The conditions of service of Abia State workers are very encouraging. The salary of workers in the state is the highest in the Southeast. I am a trained labour activists, I know that another major challenge which workers experience is the dwindling respects for civil servants in the state.”

    On reasons behind his interest for the position of the labour leadership in the state, Comrade Okoro gave insight into what he wants to achieve, which include improving workers’ welfare, expectations and bring back the glory of NLC in which has been lost years back.

    On his assessment of labour in the state, he identified poor leadership administration as the cause of workers’ nightmare. He promised to use his experience as a state

    chairman, PSNC and Principle Secretary and Allied Union to better the welfare of workers if elected.

    He said the NLC as an umbrella body of Nigerian workers, is expected to protect workers’ interest in the state, even as he blamed the situation of workers to lack of visionary leadership in managing the affairs of the union.