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Tag: minister

  • Govt set to negotiate minimum wage with Labour, says minister

    Govt set to negotiate minimum wage with Labour, says minister

    Negotiations that will lead to increased minimum wage will  commence this month, Labour Minister Chris Ngige has said.

    The minister’s assurance followed the announcement of the members of the national minimum wage negotiation committee.

    Ngige also allayed the fears of the Labour movement over the move by the National assembly to repeal the law on minimum wage by taking it away from the exclusive list to the concurrent list.

    Speaking with reporters at the ongoing 106th session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva, Switzerland, Ngige said though employers had said they were not in a position to pay the N56,000 minimum wage being demanded by Labour, all parties involved had agreed that the N18,000 minimum wage is no longer realistic.

    NLC President Ayuba Wabba told the ILC delegates that the situation of the working poor in Nigeria continued to be dire because of the high and increasing cost of living and rising number of dependents given the deepening unemployment situation; low social protection coverage, delayed payment of salaries among others.

    The minister said: “The issue of minimum wage is a tripartite thing involving the employers, workers and the government and the three of us are talking and have agreed that there is the need to review the issue of minimum wage in Nigeria.

    “The government also agreed that there is the need to pay for short fall of salary arrears, promotion arrears and other earned allowances and they can also attest to that. That is why they have not reported us here of subjugation because we have taken bold steps and initiated payment in that same direction.

    “Before I left home, N10 billion was already being processed for the promotion allowances arrears. Also, the sum of N14.6 billion had been expended in the area of salaries. If we go back home, we have other machineries and plans to go into the bond market and get some funds to offset all these arrears in one full swipe.”

    Asked when the issue of new minimum wage will be resolved, he said: “You cannot fix a time limit for the new minimum wage because it is a negotiation that is ongoing. But we are sure and we have seen the reason there must be an increase.

    “Some people have taken their position. The workers have demanded N56,000 and the employers have said we cannot pay N56,000. But everything being said now is outside the orbit of the negotiation table.When the committee comes into force, then actual discussion will start and that committee will come into force in the a forthright.”

    Speaking on the Bill before the House of Representatives seeking to remove the Labour matters, including minimum wage from the exclusive legislative list, the minister said: “bill has just been presented and if you understand the process of law making the way I do, you will not have any course to worry.

    “The real stage where law making begins is the second reading because that is where the argument starts and you have to convince your colleagues in the chamber in question, either in the House of Representatives or the Senate that the bill must be advanced further and there must be concurrence.

    “The bill in question has just passed first reading and I reiterate that the issue of Labour matters, minimum wage and arbitration are things that are on the exclusive federal legislative list, second schedule of the constitution, item number 34.

    “Therefore, even if that passes a second reading and third reading and is passed, it will still require a constitutional amendment for it to be allowed to pass into a law. So, it is almost like an impossibility. But anything is possible. It is like looking for a needle inside a sack. So, there is no cause for alarm.”

    Wabba said while organised labour were worried about the delay in the commencement of negotiation, they have gotten commitment from all level, including the National Assembly that they are ready to make sure that the issue is addressed once and for all.

  • Minister to assist ‘drug addict’

    Minister to assist ‘drug addict’

    Minister of Health Prof. Isaac Adewole has promised to give a scholarship to an undergraduate drug user on admission at the Neuro Psychiatric Hospital, Maiduguri, Borno State.

    Adewole visited the hospital as part of histour of Borno State for the Mid-Term Review of Health and Nutrition Emergency Response Project of the Federal Ministry of Health.

    He said drug abuse among the youth is on decline because of massive awareness on the dangers of drug abuse.

    The ministerinspected the hospital,  interacted with the patients and played Table Tennis game with one of the patients – a 20-year-old (name withheld) undergraduate of Chemistry.

    He promised to take up the teenager’s education, if he promise to stop using hard drugs.

    “I  will give you scholarship to any part of the world if you stop taking hard drugs. My protocol will get your contact and we will keep in touch,” Adewole promised.

  • Why development plans failed, by minister

    Why development plans failed, by minister

    Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed stated yesterday that development plans failed because previous governments  ignored cultural dimension of such strategies.

    According to him, culture is the driver and an enabler of sustainable development, adding that if culture remains ignored, no development plan or strategy will work.

    The minister spoke when he opened a two-day national workshop on “Nigerian Dress Culture and Sustainable Economic Development” organised by the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO) in Minna yesterday.

    He, however, said the present administration is working towards integrating culture in its policies, plans and strategies as a means of preventing failure.

    The minister, who was represented by a director in the ministry, Mr. Gerald Adewole, said promotion of Nigerian dress culture would engender enormous socio-political and economic benefits to the nation, which would serve as a veritable tool for identity, integration, unity and cultural diplomacy.

    He called on the citizenry to patronise made in Nigeria dresses instead of foreign ones, stating that it would help in resuscitating the country’s comatose textile companies.

    “Nigerian dresses fall under the cultural and creative industry and this sector, which is one of the fastest growing sectors of the global economy, has the capacity to generate employment, create wealth and alleviate poverty.”

    Mohammed expressed government’s determination in creating the enabling environment for the cultural, creative and textile manufacturing industries in the nation to thrive.

    The Executive Secretary and CEO of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Professor Barclays Ayakoroma called for the reorientation of the citizenry on the need to place value on indigenous style of dressing adding that this will not only contribute to reviving the moribund textile industries in the country but would contribute to national socio-economic development.

    He lamented that the patronage of foreign dress culture have contributed to the moribund state of textile industry in Nigeria hence the need for increased campaign that would promote patriotism in the people through dress culture.

    Niger State Governor Abubakar Sani Bello, who was represented by the Commissioner of Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Jonathan Vatsa, said the government is working its best in reviving the cultural heritage available in the state.

    He said the government is working on ensuring that the cultural heritage did not go into extinction.

  • Osinbajo, Amosun, Akeredolu, minister, UNFPA, others express shock

    Osinbajo, Amosun, Akeredolu, minister, UNFPA, others express shock

    Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun, Minister of Health Prof. Isaac Adewole and United Nations Population Fund  (UNFPA)  have expressed shock over the  sadden death of Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin.

    He was until his death, UNFPA Executive Director and a former Minister of Health.

    The Acting President, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, extended heartfelt condolences to Osotimehin’s wife, his children and entire family.

    He commiserated with UNFPA workers and the entire UN system on the demise of “a very remarkable international public servant, who served passionately, diligently and worked tirelessly at the global and national stages to reduce maternal mortality and promote universal access to reproductive health”.

    The late Osotimehin, he noted, also had a distinguished career as medical doctor and teacher before he served as a cabinet minister in Nigeria and later at the UN.

    He said the deceased will be long remembered for his many significant developmental contributions at home and in the international community.

    As Prof. Osotimehin is being mourned internationally, the Acting President urged the Osotimehin family, friends and associates to take solace knowing that his notable service and worthy contributions, especially towards improving women and children’s health across the world are widely acclaimed, deeply appreciated, and would be long remembered and honoured.

    Akeredolu commiserated with the Osotimehin family and Nigerians over the demise of the former minister.

    According to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary Segun Ajiboye, Akeredolu lamented the death of Osotimehin, describing the professor’s death as a big loss to Nigeria.

    He said: “The death of Prof. Osotimehin is a big loss, not only to his family, but the country as a whole. His death, coming at this crucial time when the nation needs his service most, is no doubt a huge blow.”

    Amosun described the death of the UNFPA Executive Director as a big loss to Nigeria and the world.

    The governor said the death of the professor of clinical pathology, who he described as a world acclaimed public servant, was particularly saddening for Ogun State, as he was one of the many illustrious sons and daughters that the Gateway State is proud of.

    “We cannot forget his invaluable contributions as Provost, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan and the war against HIV/AIDS, when he served as Executive Director of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), which no doubt, significantly tamed the spread of the disease in Nigeria.

    “His achievements, definitely earned him a well-deserved seat in the Federal Executive Council of the previous administration, where he held the portfolio of the Minister of Health,” he added.

    He prayed that God grants the Osotimehin family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

    UNFPA yesterday promised that it would keep Osotimehin’s grand vision for women and young people. It added that it would continue to stand up for the human rights and dignity of everyone, particularly the most vulnerable adolescent girls.

    In a statement on its website, the organisation wrote: “This is a devastating loss for UNFPA and for the people, especially women, girls and youth he dedicated his life to serving, starting from when he became a doctor in Nigeria.

    “UNFPA expressed its deep sympathy to his family and prays that they have the fortitude to bear this great loss.”

    “Dr. Osotimehin was bold and never afraid of a challenge and his strong leadership helped keep the health and rights of the world’s women and girls high on the global agenda.

    “He understood that the world’s 1.8 billion young people are truly its greatest hope for the future.”

    Adewole described Osotimehin’s death as shocking.

    The late Osotimehin, according to the minister, will be remembered for his role and global contributions to increased access to Family Planning as well as sexual and adolescent health, especially in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs).

    “Professor Osotimehin whom I fondly called the ‘Big Boss’ during his lifetime will definitely be missed for his dedication, humility, mentorship and patriotism,” Adewole said.

    The minister, who spoke on behalf of the management and staff of the Federal Ministry of Health, condoled with the family, friends, associates and colleagues of the late professor at the United Nations.

  • Minister leads talk at summit

    As preparations for the 2017 edition of MARKETING EDGE National Marketing Stakeholders Summit gather momentum, Minister of Communication Adebayo Shittu has confirmed his participation as the Keynote Speaker and Special Guest of Honour at the event scheduled to hold on June 16.

    He said he is excited and willing to be a part of the yearly event especially given the theme of this year’s award, which he said is a fallout of industry’s appreciation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s economic recovery and restructuring plans aimed at making Nigeria a self dependent and self reliant country.

    The theme of the summit which holds at the Federal Palace Hotel, Ikoyi, Lagos is “Brand Marketing and Marketing Management in a Recovering but Restructured Nigerian Economy: Challenges and Implications for Marketing Services Providers”. The guest speaker at the summit is the former Managing Director of Guinness Cameroun, and Founder/CEO, Advantage Consult, Mr. Ekwunife Okoli, while the renowned marketing guru and Managing Partner of Market Space, Mr. George Thorpe, will chair the occasion.

    Confirming the minister of Communication’s participation at the event expected to attract over 400 industry players and gladiators, the publisher of the leading brands and advertising magazine said: “The Hon. Minister,  Adebayo Shittu, gave his consent early in the week as a way of encouraging and assuring industry operators of Federal Government’s genuine desire and intention to make everybody key into its newly released economic reform agenda while also promoting backward integration in critical industries as it is no longer business as usual.

    The publisher and the convener said the event, which is a two-in-one-initiative, is intended to promote the brand idea while further expanding the frontiers of marketing and advertising knowledge.

    He said the theme for this year’s summit was adopted as a result of the need to create conversation around the current economic realities in the country as a way of opening up new opportunities for industry players.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Minister: govt is committed to youth employment

    Minister: govt is committed to youth employment

    The Federal Government is committed to its youth empowerment programmes. It is also considering adopting capacity to create jobs as one of the criteria for offering contracts and assistance.

    Budget and National Planning Minister Udoma Udo Udoma, who gave the indication at a forum with members of the 25th Regular Course on Policy, Strategy and Leadership of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) in Abuja, said unemployment  was giving the  Federal Government great concern.

    Consequently, it has made job creation one of the major objectives of its Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

    A statement by his Media Aide, Akpandem James, said the plan was aimed at creating jobs by developing labour-intensive sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, housing and construction while also launching a number of public works programmes and encouraging private-sector participation in the economy.

    Government, he said, was developing infrastructure in sectors with the capacity to create demand for labour and would sustain the N-Power programmes, as well as continue to support small scale enterprises to maximise their potential for job creation.

    He added that there are other policies to encourage job creation, including apprenticeship programme, supporting and patronising Made in Nigeria Initiative to encourage local manufacturing.

    To further give impetus to the drive, he said government would give necessary support to institutions that focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics as a veritable foundation for building a knowledge-based economy.

    He pointed out that the bulk of the job creation initiatives would prioritise youth as beneficiaries and is being pursued through direct job creation by the Federal Government and those created in the informal and formal sectors by the private sector, and skill-building programmes.

    Udoma emphasised that government would no longer give incentives to private investors on the basis of intentions but of results; and that the driving principles would depend on how many jobs would be created, how much value would be added to the economy, the quality of goods produced and how much foreign exchange they could generate.

  • Minister harps on quality food

    Health Minister Isaac Prof Adewole has sought the production of quality food, saying that anyone who eats good food will not need the use of drugs.

    Speaking at the opening of the Food West Africa exhibition conference organised by Informa Life Sciences Exhibitions in Victoria Island, Lagos, the minister called for safety food, adding that when food is not safe, it becomes poison to the body when eaten and would cause ill-health.

    Noting that Nigeria is not a stranger to food safety good governance, the minister represented by Mrs Modupe Chukwuma, the Director of Food and Drug Services in the Federal Ministry of Health, agreed that a food safety system was expensive to maintain and that the government could not do it alone. He called for support from the private sector to promote a food safety culture.

    Also, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Acting Director-General representative at the event, Mr Abimbola Adeboye, urged Nigerians to join hands in ensuring that foods are safe for consumption. He noted that the supply of safe food promotes food security and sustains development.

    Informa Exhibitions Life Sciences Group Africa Director Jamie Hill said of the 140 exhibitors at the event, 35 per cent was from Nigeria. He said the country’s food industry is the largest in West Africa, advising that there should a paradigm shift from oil and gas to the sector.

     

     

  • Minister: it’s sad children can’t write, read in mother tongue

    Minister: it’s sad children can’t write, read in mother tongue

    Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed has decried dwindling ability of most Nigerian children to write and read in their mother tongues.

    He spoke yesterday in Kaduna at the 2017 edition of the Annual Round Table on Cultural Orientation (ARTCO), organised by National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture.

    Mohammed said there was urgent need to curtail the trend of indigenous language extinction.

    The minister said the language should go digital on various Internet platforms, where youths and children are familiar with, so that they could begin to pick up their mother tongue from such electronic devices.

    He, however, hailed NICO for its work in promoting Nigerian languages over the years and particularly for working tirelessly to ensure that the programme became a reality.

    He reiterated the commitment of the President Muhammadu Buhari Administration to accord Nigerian culture its pride of place in developmental agenda.

    The minister said: “We will leave no stone unturned to ensure that our cherished cultural legacies and values are transmitted from one generation to another.”

    “The importance of indigenous language to national development cannot be over-emphasised. Language is the soul of culture; it is an indispensable tool for the promotion and preservation of culture. We cannot be genuinely committed to the promotion of our culture without addressing the serious issue of language endangerment and extinction.

    “There is no gainsaying the fact that our indigenous languages are endangered and if urgent steps are not taken, they will go into extinction in no distant future…

    “It has been my desire since I assumed duties as honourable minister to convene a strategic stakeholders’ meeting to underscore the relevance of the indigenous language newspapers and to engineer a road map for their sustenance in the face of formidable challenges. This explains why one of my first assignments in office was to visit identifiable indigenous newspapers like Alaroye, Iroyin Owuro, Rariya, Aminiya and Leadership Hausa.

    “The visits convinced me, more than ever, that indigenous language newspapers have a vital role to play in reviving the fortunes of our endangered languages, if their potentials are maximised.”

    He said the way forward is to fashion out strategies to address the problem.

     

  • Minister lays foundation for 127-bed teaching hospital

    Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Malam Muhammad Bello has laid the foundation for a 127-bed teaching hospital in Abuja.

    While laying the foundation for the multi-billionaire Baze University Teaching hospital in Jabi, Bello said the Hospital portends hope for ordinary Nigerians, adding that it would complement government efforts at bridging the gap in the provision of quality healthcare services in the Territory.

    His words: “The establishment of Baze University Teaching Hospital is taking place at a very auspicious time when Nigeria is experiencing a downturn in the provision of quality healthcare in the country, especially at the primary level. This Teaching Hospital is a welcome development in bridging the gap”.

    The minister who was represented by FCT Permanent Secretary, Dr. Babatope Ajakaiye further revealed that the hospital would ensure that the teeming residents of the Territory have access to good medical treatments, thus guaranteeing healthy living.

    Bello according to the statement issued by  the Press Secretary, Office of the Permanent Secretary, FCT, Tony Odey, challenged the management of the Hospital to provide a helipad facility in the Hospital to handle emergency situations, assuring them that the FCT Administration would continue to give them all the necessary support.

    Earlier, the Pro-Chancellor of Baze University, Senator Yusuf Datti Baba appealed to the Minister to revoke undeveloped plots of land around the University and re-allocate to more serious developers to give room for speedy development in the Territory.

    The Hospital which will be part of the Faculty of Medicine of Baze University is expected to be completed within 48 months.

     

  • Minister takes oil workers’ case to arbitration panel

    Minister takes oil workers’ case to arbitration panel

    Minister of Labour and Productivity Chris Ngige has referred the case of striking workers of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) to Industrial Arbitration Panel.

    By the minister’s action, the workers cannot continue with the strike as statutorily provided by the law.

    A letter to the Managing Director and lead Country Manager, MPNU, dated May 12 and signed by Mrs. M.O. Ike of the Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations Department of Labour and Productivity Ministry on behalf of the minister, indicated that Ngige has invoked the powers conferred on him by law by taken the dispute to the Industrial Arbitration Panel.

    The letter reads: “I am directed to inform you that the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment in exercise of the power conferred upon him by Section 9 (1) of the Trade Disputes Act, Cap T8, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN), 2004, has referred the trade dispute now existing between the management of MPN and PENGASSAN to the Industrial Arbitration Panel.

    “The Registrar of the panel will address further correspondence to you in due course.

    “You are hereby reminded of the provisions of the Trade Disputes Act, which stipulates inter alia, that there shall be no strike or lockout where a trade dispute has been referred to the Industrial Arbitration Panel. You are, therefore, advised accordingly.”

    The striking Mobil workers had shunned a mediatory meeting called by the minister last Thursday without an explanation. They also rejected a directive by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu to suspend the strike.

    The action of the oil workers was considered as discourteous. The workers rather pledged loyalty to the national body of PENGASSAN and every position it takes on the matter.