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  • NLC: seek judicial redress instead of self-help

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has asked politicians and their political parties, aggrieved as a result of the just concluded general elections not to resort to self-help but seek help from the judicial system, saying as patriot, Nigerians must collectively work towards sustaining the nation’s democracy.

    The congress also asked President Muhammadu Buhari to consider returning to the implementation of Justice Uwais report on electoral reform with a view to eliminating and discouraging interference in the nation’s electoral process.

    It also asked the Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure the conduct of free and fair elections in places where elections was declared inconclusive, while frowning at the conduct of some soldiers deployed for electoral duties during the just concluded polls across the country.

    In a statement signed by Acting President of the Congress, Comrade Amaechi Asugwani, the workers umbrella body said it was ratifying to note the insistance of the INEC that no certificate of return will be issued in situation where election results were announced under duress, adding that such should be made to serve as deterrant to politicians.

    He said “In the spirit of the peace accord signed by the major political parties prior to the 2019 general election, we urge all persons aggrieved by the conduct of the elections to refrain from self-help. Those with genuine grievances should resort to the legal process for the redress of all wrongs.

    “As patriots who are committed to nation building, we have no other option but to collectively work towards the sustenance, improvement and deepening of our democracy. There is no option to democracy”.

    According to the congress: “The conduct of the 2019 Nigerian general election was largely peaceful in many parts of the country. Yet, there were a number of logistic and security issues that dogged the conduct of this year’s general election.

    “First, the date of the Presidential and National Assembly elections was shifted from 16th February 2019 to 3rd March 2019 in the early hours of D-day while Governorship and State House of Assembly elections was postponed from 3rd March to 9th March 2019. This attracted widespread condemnation by Nigerians and the international community and contributed to low turnout of voters during the 2019 general election.

    “The public expectations after the postponement was that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would put its acts together and ensure that the conduct of the elections on the postponed dates was impeccable.

    “Unfortunately, that was hardly the case as the elections were blighted by perennial tardy logistics such as late arrival of election materials to polling units, failure of data capture machines in some polling units and poor knowledge of election rules by many INEC ad hoc staff.

    “Furthermore, desperate politicians with an agenda to manipulate the electoral process to their own advantage played out the script of ballot box snatching, intimidation of election officials, waylaying of collation centres and general perpetration of violence.

    “While INEC should be commended for insisting on the use of card readers for elections in every part of the country and for issuing a policy statement that no election result obtained through duress would be validated by issuance of certificate of return, it is clear that these pronouncements hardly served as sufficient deterrence to those bent on foisting the rule of the jungle on our election process.

    “Despite the fears expressed by Nigerians with respect to the deployment of the military during elections, soldiers were deployed presumably to preempt ballot box snatching, destruction of voting materials and arrest any drift to widespread violence. While the deployment of the military was helpful in preventing skirmishes from different local hotspots from degenerating into society-wide brigandage, the conduct of some soldiers deployed in some parts of the country to maintain public order left a lot to be desired.

    “First, contrary to the judgements of Federal High Courts in Sokoto and Lagos which were later upheld by the Court of Appeal in the legal suit – “Yussuf vs Obasanjo” – and which stated that the job of maintaining security during elections primarily resides with the Police, some military personnel went outside their duty call to invade polling units and collation centres, and intimidate election officials, conducts that were in violation of our laws and scared many voters from exercising their franchise.

    “Also, the deployment of military personnel to harass political rivals was a new low in our electoral history and presents a serious setback to recent electoral reform gains. We call on the military high command to investigate these infractions and bring the culprits, whoever they are, to book as a deterrence to others.

    “Going forward, there is need for serious national conversations on critical areas of improvement in the conduct of elections in Nigeria. We also call for a sincere revisit of the Justice Uwais Electoral Reform Report especially as it relates to reinforcing INEC’s independence, unbundling of INEC and creation of Elections Offences Commission.

    “We call on President Muhammadu Buhari to show commitment to implementing aspects of Uwais Report which relevance is validated by recent developments in our electoral space. We also demand that INEC must ensure free, fair, and credible elections in some states where the process was declared inconclusive and polls rescheduled for 23rd March 2019.

    “Efforts must also be re-doubled to develop a new national civic culture that venerates the rule of law. The trend where politicians consider themselves successful to the extent that they are able to manipulate our electoral laws, maim and kill their fellow citizens, bribe voters and perpetrate all sort of electoral shenanigans must be put to a stop.

    “INEC shares some responsibilities in the shortcomings witnessed during the last general elections. First, despite the insistence by INEC on the use of card readers for the election, the purported failure of the card readers to read the finger prints of the electorates in many polling units resulted to widespread use of manual accreditation which many politicians took advantage of to deploy hired hands to vote with multiple Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) even in the absence of the authentic owners of the PVCs.

    “We call on INEC to completely outlaw the use of manual accreditation for voting. We also call for continuous audit of the voters roll. We must take advantage of technological advancement and work with all relevant stakeholders to deploy technology in a way that minimizes to the barest human interference with our electoral process as a nation. INEC must stick to early planning and adequate training of personnel deployed on election duties.

    “In the spirit of the peace accord signed by the major political parties prior to the 2019 general election, we urge all persons aggrieved by the conduct of the elections to refrain from self-help. Those with genuine grievances should resort to the legal process for the redress of all wrongs.

    “As patriots who are committed to nation building, we have no other option but to collectively work towards the sustenance, improvement and deepening of our democracy. There is no option to democracy”.

     

     

  • NLC set for confrontation with Amosun over ‘anti workers policies’

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)  is poised for  a head on collusion with   Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State  over what it describes as the governor’s penchant for anti-workers’ policies.

    Labour vowed late Friday to hold the governor responsible for any harm done to any worker during its planned protest in the state.

    The protest is scheduled for Tuesday, according to NLC President Ayuba Wabba.

    The NLC asked President Muhammadu Buhari to keep off Amosun whom it accused of being unrepentantly arrogant, unnecessarily difficult, and totally unreliable.

    Going into the specifics of the governor’s offences, labour accused him of failing to remit statutory deductions from workers’ salaries for over eight years and failing to honour promises to address workers’ demands.

    Wabba said the agreement signed by the governor to use the last tranche of the Paris Club refunds to clear arrears of indebtedness to workers, was also not fulfilled by the governor.

    He said: “The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has taken cognizance of a statement credited to the Governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun, where he threatened to disgrace the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress if the Congress insists on embarking on a protest scheduled for Tuesday March 5, 2019 in Ogun State.

    “The Nigeria Labour Congress has taken note of the threat by Governor Ibikunle Amosun, but we want to assure him that his threats will not deter us from defending the interest of workers in Ogun State whose rights he has been trampling upon especially on.”

    The governor, congress said, has “failed to remit statutory deductions from workers’ salaries for pensions, cooperatives Ileya, Christmas etc. over a period of 105 months,” and refused to ” pay workers at the Tai Solarin College of Education salary arrears that have  accumulated for the past ten years and now gross to a financial liability of about N9 billion.”

    He added: “to make matters worse, Governor Amosun sacked the Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress from his employment for standing firm in the defence of the rights of workers in Ogun State.

    “The issues we have highlighted are too grievous to be swept under the carpet. Therefore, the decision of the 12th National Delegates Conference of the NLC to confront and engage Governor Amosun will be carried out to the letter on Tuesday, March 5, 2019.”

    Wabba said the Congress was “not unmindful of the fact that even Amosun’s party has complained of his penchant to violently disgrace other spheres of leadership outside his control and sometimes beyond him. We are not unmindful of the fact that Governor Amosun’s hostility to Nigerian workers is primarily a transfer of aggression.

    “Our confidence stems from the protection and guarantees provided by Section 40 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution which gives workers and indeed all Nigerians the freedom to peacefully assembly and protest. All that the law requires us to do is to inform the Police and relevant security agencies.

    “This we have done. We are ready to peacefully protest the grievous mistreatment by our workers in the hands of Governor Ibikunle Amosun on 5th March 2019.

    “It is unfortunate that as a sitting Governor and a former Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Governor Ibikunle Amosun shows no respect for the rule of law and could descend into the dunghill of violent utterances in order to cow workers. We want to warn Governor Amosun that we will hold him personally responsible for any harm that comes to any worker during our protest on March 5, 2019.

    “We want to remind Governor Amosun that he has already trampled workers on the ground and those who are down need fear no fall. We wish to alert our security agencies to Governor Amosun’s resort to violent threats. We assure him that his immunity cover will soon be removed and he must be ready to answer for his crimes against workers. The NLC can assure Ibikunle Amosun that we will continue to engage him even after he would have been sworn in as a Senator in Abuja.”

     

  • We must rescue Ogun workers from Amosun – NLC

    The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has said it must rescue Ogun workers from some alleged anti-labour practices of the state governor, Mr Ibikunle Amosun.

    Mr Ayuba Wabba, the NLC President made the position of the congress known in a statement on Friday night in Abuja.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that there has been a confrontation between the state governor and the leadership of NLC over non-payment of workers’ salaries and arrears  and the recent sack of the NLC state chairman by the governor.

    The NLC leadership also accused Amosun of non-remittance of statutory deductions from workers’ salaries and his refusal to pay gratuities of retired state and local government workers since 2013.

    Wabba said NLC was prepared for a showdown with the governor if attempts were made to “disgrace the NLC” during its  rescheduled March 5, protest in the state, as reportedly threatened by him.

    He said the decision to ‘confront and tackle’ Amosun had already been taken by the NLC at its 12th National Delegates Conference and that there was no going back on it.

    “The leadership of the NLC has taken cognisance of a statement credited to the Gov. of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun, where he threatened to disgrace the leadership of the NLC if the Congress insists on embarking on a protest scheduled for Tuesday March 5, 2019 in Ogun State.

    “This was reported by Premium Times on 1st March 2019 and other platforms. Our Position is that The Nigeria Labour Congress has taken note of the threat by Governor Ibikunle Amosun.

    “But we want to assure him that his threats will not deter us from defending the interest of workers in Ogun State whose rights he has been trampling upon.

    ” This is especially on the following issues: the non-remittance of statutory deductions from workers’ salaries for pensions, cooperative, ileya, Christmas etc. over a period of one hundred and five (105) months,” he said.

    He said that Amosun  had refused to pay salary arrears of workers at the Tai Solarin College of Education, according to him, which has accumulated for the past ten years and now grosses to a financial liability of about N9 billion.

    “To make matters worse, Governor Amosun sacked the Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress from his employment for standing firm in the defence of the rights of workers in Ogun State.

    “The issues we have highlighted are too grievous to be swept under the carpet, therefore, the decision of the 12th National Delegates Conference of the NLC to confront and engage Governor Amosun will be carried out to the letter on Tuesday, March 5, 2019.

    “We are not unmindful of the fact that even Amosun’s political party has complained of his penchant to violently disgrace other spheres of leadership outside his control and sometimes beyond him.

    “We are not unmindful of the fact that Governor Amosun’s hostility to Nigerian workers is primarily a transfer of aggression

    ” Our confidence stems from the protection and guarantees provided by Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution, which gives workers and indeed all Nigerians the freedom to peaceful assembly and protest,”he said.

    While insiting on the scheduled protest, Wabba added that “”All that the law requires us to do is to inform the police and relevant security agencies.

    “This we have done. We are ready to peacefully protest the grievous mistreatment by our workers in the hands of Governor Ibikunle Amosun on 5th March 2019.

    “We want to warn Governor Amosun that we will hold him personally responsible for any harm that comes to any worker during our protest on March 5, 2019.

    “We want to remind Governor Amosun that he has already trampled workers on the ground and those who are down need fear no fall.

    “We wish to alert our security agencies to Governor Amosun’s resort to violent threats.

    “We assure him that his immunity cover will soon be removed and he must be ready to answer for his crimes against workers.

    “The NLC can assure Ibikunle Amosun that we will continue to engage him even after he would have been sworn in as a Senator in Abuja.

    “We wish to state that we unequivocally stand with the press statement recently released by our state council on this issue.

    “We urge all our state councils especially those from the contiguous states to Ogun State – Lagos, Oyo, Osun states who are already fully mobilised for the protest not to be sacred one bit by the threats by Governor Ibikunle Amosun. We had dared and won worse tyrants,” Wabba said.

    NAN

  • NLC to Atiku: accept defeat in good faith

    The Nigeria Labour Congress ( NLC ) has asked all those who lost in the just- concluded Presidential and National Assembly elections, especially Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar to accept defeat in good faith.

    President of Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, in a statement in Abuja told the losers to bear in mind that no candidate’s victory or loss is worth the blood of any Nigerian or their property.

    He told President Muhammadu Buhari his re-election should enable him re-assess his vision, strategy and implementation as well complete pending projects while initiating new ones where feasible.

    The statement reads: “The Nigeria Labour Congress wishes to congratulate Muhammadu Buhari on his re-election as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, being the second person to get re-elected since the return to civilian rule twenty years ago.

    “We also wish to congratulate other candidates for their participation and urge them to accept the outcome of the election, and adherence to the peace accord they had signed before the election.

    “The electioneering campaign although bitterly fought and the election itself keenly contested, we urge the President-elect and any aggrieved party to put first the interest of the nation. We reiterate that no candidate’s victory or loss is worth the life or property of anyone.

    “Mr. President won in 2015 on his campaign promise to fight corruption, restore security and grow the economy. From his re-election, this may have boded well with the greater majority of the people who voted for him.

    “Nonetheless, his re-election avails him a great opportunity to reflect on and re-assess his vision, strategy and implementation as well as enables him to complete pending projects and initiate new ones where feasible.”

    The Labour body added: “The Nigeria Labour Congress on its part will work with the social partners, government and organised private sector to ensure Nigerians, especially, workers to get dividends of democracy as and when due.

    Read Also: Congratulate Buhari, Tony Momoh tells Atiku

    “Worker-pensioner-issues, especially salaries, pensions and welfare will continue to dominate our engagement with government.

    “We commend INEC for organising the elections in spite of the initial glitches. It should speedily correct the lapses identified so far in order for it to conduct more credible elections in the future.

    “Our most profound commendation goes to the millions of Nigerians who defied all odds to perform their civic duty. Similarly, our deep condolences go to the families of those who lost their lives.

    “We demand that the culprits be brought to book in accordance with our laws.”

  • Don’t throw Nigeria into crisis, NLC tells politicians

    •Congress asks Nigerians to come out and vote

    THE Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has cautioned politicians contesting the general election to bear in mind that they cannot be leaders, if they throw the nation into chaos because of their ambition.

    In a statement yesterday, its President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, urged Nigerians to go out and cast their vote for candidates of their choice.

    He added that they cannot complain of bad governance, if they refuse to vote.

    Wabba appealed to Nigerians to note that when they sponsor or stoke violence, nobody could predict its course or end.

    “We should, therefore, do all that is necessary to prevent it,” the NLC president said.

    The statement reads: “The NLC once again wishes to commend Nigerians for mustering to vote after the last-minute postponement of the presidential and National Assembly elections last Saturday.  However, as Nigerians go to poll, we appeal to the finest traditions, highest values, utmost sense of responsibility and unflagging patriotism in them.

    “Our survival as a nation, the pride of place, which we seek to occupy in the community of nations, the respectability we crave in other lands depend not on how many barrels of crude oil we export in  a day or how populous we are or how many billions of dollars we illegally siphon outside the country, but on  the choice we make, and how we make that choice: cast our vote wisely or sell it for pittance; cause violence or exhibit decorum; levy war or wage peace; eschew egotism or elevate it.

    Read also: A conspiracy of evil forces

    “All candidates have potential to win or to lose. However, that decision rests not with the candidates, but the electorate. It is, therefore, infantile or naive for some candidates to assume they cannot lose.

    “The moment of truth has come, and we must of necessity perform our civic duty in fulfillment of our beliefs or in betrayal of them. Our conduct will reveal our true identity, betray our intentions and test our claim to nationhood.

    “We, therefore, challenge you the candidates, politicians, supporters, security personnel and INEC to be of utmost good behaviour and ethical standard as well as conduct yourselves with civility, humility, truth and abide by the rule of law.

    “We urge you to remember the oft-rehashed phrase, that the victory or loss of any candidate is not worth the blood of any Nigerian, not even the blood of a chicken! We want to remind all of us that nobody’s ambition is worth a square millimeter of the Nigerian territory. We similarly want to inform all and sundry that we cannot hold political offices without peace or country. We appeal to all to note that when we sponsor or stoke violence, we cannot predict its course or end. We should, therefore, do all that is necessary to prevent it.

    “We urge all Nigerians to note that we are going to the poll and not war, and they should accordingly tone down their rhetoric or blood pressure. In this contest, there must be losers and winners, and we do not need to rig to win or snatch ballot boxes or cause mayhem to be reckoned with. Those things do not project our strength or power, but primitivism, primordiality and our weakness.

    “We urge INEC to be fair, impartial and just to all parties or contestants. The onus rests on them to conduct free, fair and credible elections and earn the confidence of the electorate.  If INEC conduct itself transparently, there will be very little need to contest their results.  It similarly behooves on us to respect and accept their results or verdict. We therefore urge politicians or candidates while criticising INEC to be careful so as not to destroy completely their image or credibility.”

     

     

     

  • NLC seeks public holiday for workers to avoid voter apathy

    THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has asked the Federal Government to declare a two- or three-day public holiday to enable workers travel to vote where they registered.

    NLC said this will deal with the imminent voter apathy, following the shift in the date of the general elections.

    The Congress also asked Nigerians, especially workers, not to be disillusioned with the postponement of the elections, but to go all out and cast their vote.

    He said the postponement of the election was a better evil than disenfranchising several millions of Nigerians.

    A statement issued by NLC President Comrade Ayuba Wabba s said: “We at the NLC join other Nigerians in expressing our shock at the last-minute postponement of the presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled to hold on Saturday, February 16, 2019.

    “We share in the pains of those who in an uncommon show of patriotism, had to travel long distances to perform their civic duty. We similarly understand the outrage of those who had incurred huge and unquantifiable logistic costs. No explanation will be good enough given INEC’s repeated assurances and the zeal of Nigerians to cast their vote.

    “However, given the fact that had the election taken place, a huge number of Nigerians would have been disenfranchised on account of gross and wide-spread logistic deficit, the postponement, as painful as it is, is a lesser evil of the two.

    “In light of this, we enjoin all Nigerians to quickly put behind them this ugly incident and brace up for the rescheduled election next weekend. In spite of the huge costs to them, we call on all Nigerians to self-mobilise on the same scale that they did the previous weekend.

    “Let them not be disillusioned or react to this postponement in a manner that will create voter-apathy. This will certainly be counter-productive and will in the long run work against the interests of the electorate.

    “We call on institutions to be flexible with their staff to enable them travel in good time to perform this important civic duty, even if it means government declaring a day or two-day public holiday to achieve this.

    “As for INEC, we do hope they have learnt their lesson. On no account ever again, should they allow this to happen. All effort and expertise must be deployed by INEC to guarantee free, fair and credible elections. We appeal to all Nigerians to put this incident behind them and go out en masse to vote next weekend.”

  • Election postponement: NLC demand public holiday

    … warn Workers against voter apathy

     

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has asked government to declare a two or three-day public holiday to enable workers travel to perform their civic responsibility in the face of imminent voter apathy as a result of the shift in the date of the general elections.

    The Congress also asked Nigerians especially workers not to be disillusioned with the postponement of the elections, but the go all out and cast their vote, saying the postponement of the election was a better evil than disenfranchising several millions of Nigerians.

    President of the Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba said in a statement that from evidence available, many people would have been able to cast their vote as a result of logistics problems if the election had been allowed to go ahead.

    Wabba said: “We at the Nigerian Labour Congress join other Nigerians in expressing our shock at the last minute postponement of the presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled to hold on Saturday, February 16, 2019.

    “We share in the pains of those who in an uncommon show of patriotism, had to travel long distances to perform their civic duty. We similarly understand the outrage of those who had incurred huge and unquantifiable logistic costs. No explanation will be good enough given INEC’s repeated assurances and the zeal of Nigerians to cast their vote.

    “However, given the fact that had the election taken place, a huge number of Nigerians would have been disenfranchised on account of gross and wide-spread logistic deficit, the postponement, as painful as it is, is a lesser evil of the two.

    “In light of this, we enjoin all Nigerians to quickly put behind them this ugly incident and brace up for the rescheduled election next weekend. In spite of the huge costs to them, we call on all Nigerians to self-mobilise on the same scale that they did the previous weekend.

    “Let them not be disillusioned or react to this postponement in a manner that will create voter-apathy. This will certainly be counterproductive and will in the long run work against the interests of the electorate.

    “We call on institutions to be flexible with their staff to enable them travel in good time to perform this important civic duty even if it means government declaring a day or two public holiday to achieve this.

    “As for INEC, we do hope they have learnt their lesson. On no account ever again, should they allow this to happen. All effort and expertise must be deployed by INEC to guarantee free, fair and credible elections. We appeal to all Nigerians to put this incident behind them and go out en mass to vote next weekend.”

  • NLC, others plead with Buhari to constitute PenCom board

    The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and other stakeholders have urged President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly to immediately constitute the board of the National Pension Commission (PenCom).

    NLC President, Mr. Ayuba Wabba who spoke during the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee Public Hearing to Investigate the Activities of PenCom and Violation of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2004 as repealed by PRA 2014 at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja, said the absence of a board for the commission has created confusion that has made the Committee to call it out for investigation and violation of the Act.

    Wabba said the existence of a board would have made all arguments on who reports to whom which is part of what they are investigating redundant.

    He said the Act empowered the board made up of Chairman, Director-General, four commissioners and management staff, on clear responsibility. He added that members of institutions such as pensioners and trade unions are also represented on the board.

    He said critical stakeholders are not happy because they have not been able to play their role on the board.

    According to him, the stakeholders are supposed to be part of policies, guidelines and another decision-making process PenCom to safeguard workers pension fund.

    He said: “PenCom is a regulator that is supposed to regulate these funds and ensure that all regulations that it will issue is first about safeguarding the money and yield maximum return to the end beneficiary which is the pensioner. The Act does not envisage at any time, that the board will be dissolved and it will not be constituted for a very long time.”

    And that is why if you look at the Act, it is referring to the commission which is made up of the chairman, DG, four commissioners and the management staff. This is the commission and all of them together is what make up the board of management. We are not happy as critical stakeholders because we have a role to play.

    “What is happening today is that our head is being shaved in our absence which is not supposed to be so. But we now have a situation which is very fundamental that the board is not in place. It is respecting the Act to make sure that the board is in place because every board member has a role to play and we will not be here discussing who is supposed to approve a policy if the board was in place.”

    TUC President, who was represented at the event also called for the composition of the Board, stating that they agree with the position of the NLC President.

    Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Pension, Rep. Hassan Shekarau, while reacting to the Board problem that has plagued the commission since 2017 said both the President and the Senate have not been able to resolve the issue of Board composition for the commission.

    While expressing worry, he explained that a petition asking National Assembly not to clear Aliyu Dikko and Funso Doherty both appointed to be Chairman and the DG respectively also caused some delay.

    “When the President dissolved the Board of the commission including other parastatals, names were sent to the Senate for confirmation but unfortunately there was outcry that Aliyu Dikko who was propose to serve as chairman has interest in the pension industry as a shareholder or stakeholder.

    “Also, Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo in Acting President capacity sent another list of old commissioners to the Senate and from that time, the Senate did not confirm the list sent by the Acting President and that is the situation up till now. As the Senate Committee Chairman, I am handicapped because, it reduces the function of the committee as there are certain issues that goes beyond the management. It is not their making. So I support the call by NLC president that either the president or the Senate should do the needful so that the Board can be put in place,” he added.

     

  • Buhari appeals for understanding on minimum wage

    President Muhammadu Buhari has appealed for understanding of Nigerian workers as the Federal Government attempts to address the pressing issue of a new national minimum wage.

    Buhari, represented by Mr. Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, made the appeal at the 12th National Delegates Conference of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Tuesday in Abuja.

    The theme of the two-day Conference is “Towards a Decade of Activism for the Promotion of Labour Unity, National Rebirth and Development.”

    According to Mr. President, Government is determined to attain the decent work agenda, which involves opportunities to works that are productive and deliver fair income, security in the work place and social protection for families.

    “Government appeals for the continued understanding of workers in attempt to address the pressing issue of minimum wage.”

    The president noted that the government inaugurated a Technical Advisory Committee recently “to develop and advise government on how to successfully actualise the objective of seamless implementation of the impending wage increase.”

    The Committee is also “to identify new revenue sources as well as areas of existing expenditure from where some savings could be made and to augment present Federal Government’s revenue framework in order to fund the wage increase.”

    It will also “propose a work plan and modalities for the implementation of salary increase in a way that minimises any inflation impact and ensure that it does not lead to any job losses,’’ he said.

    Buhari, however, assured NLC of government’s unalloyed support and cooperation towards its struggle for better workers’ welfare, which would invariably enhance productivity and economic growth in the country.

    Mr. President further said that the present administration regarded NLC as a partner in progress and reassured the Congress of the commitment of the administration to workers’ welfare.

    “This is evidenced by the numerous programmes and policies that have been initiated by this present administration in promoting the interest and well-being of our workforce.

    “This administration is also committed to addressing other issues that are still pending,” he added.

    According to him, the Labour movement can be said without fear of contradiction to have lived up to the expectations of its teeming members by “continually protecting, defending and promoting the rights, well-being and interest of all workers and affiliates trade unions.

    “It has played significant role with the promotion of unity among workers and constantly engaged government on national rebirth and development. This has been a commendable endeavour,’’ he said.

    Earlier, the NLC President, Mr Ayuba Wabba, said that organised labour would resist any attempt to sell national assets

    Wabba said that evidence around the country showed that privatisation had not done the nation any good as majority of government owned enterprises privatised were not functional.

    He said what had happened in the past was that the enterprises were under-priced and sold to friends and associates, who stripped them of the assets, leaving them comatose and unproductive.

    “Since the privatisation of electricity distribution, Nigerians are yet to see the fulfilment of promises of efficient service delivery.

  • NLC vows to resist sale of NNPC

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Tuesday that it will resist any attempt to sell the nation’s refineries or privatize the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    It asked the government to immediately invoke the relevant sections of the law and revoke the Privatisation of the power sector.

    The Congress also said it will mobilize Nigerian workers to demand the composition of governing board for the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund and other agencies of government whose boards are yet to be inaugurated and are being run by the Ministers as sole administrators.

    President of Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba who spoke at the 12th delegates conference of the NLC in Abuja said evidence abound across the country that Privatization has not done the nation any good as majority of government owned enterprises privatized are now comatose.

    Wabba said what has happened in the past the enterprises are under prices and sold to friends and associates who strip them of the assets, leaving them comatose and unproductive.

    He emphasized that “since the privatization of electricity distribution, Nigerians are yet to see the fulfilment of promises of efficient service delivery. Instead, the electricity situation has gone worse with chronic failures by DISCOs to supply prepaid meters, exploitation of Nigerians through estimated billings and reluctance to attend to basic complaints.

    “Even with N39 billion bailout funds from government, the supposed private entrepreneurs have failed to turn anything around except maybe their pockets, unfortunately, at the expense of Nigerians. This must stop. We call on government to reverse the power sector privatisation because it has failed.

    “Privatization of public utilities has not generally proven to be the correct thing to do in most countries even developed ones. According to a study released by Public Services International.

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    “Why Public Private Partnerships don’t work; the many advantages of public alternative authored by David Hall privatizing public utilities has been a wreck in most countries. Example form Spain, France, India, South Korea, UK, Australia among others show how public/state guarantees and loans to private sector for the utilities sector have resulted in failures on delivery of services as well as repayment in most cases”.

    On the promise by one of the Presidential candidates to privatize the NNPC, Wabba said the Congress will not accept any attempt to sell National assets under any guise and will do everything possible and within legal means to stop such an attempt.

    He said that “the crisis of industrialization and manufacturing in Nigeria is best exemplified by the chaos in our downstream petroleum industry where we have been unable to manage our vast natural carbon resources for national development and the prosperity of our people. Our four national refineries are almost under lock and key as we depend on the importation of refined petroleum products for our energy needs.”

    He condemned the non-inauguration of the boards of some government agencies especially those within the Labour circle, saying such action had made the process of collective bargaining difficult, adding that the Congress has decided to take up the issue and would soon engage the relevant authorities over the issue.

    He said “as we gather in this Conference, almost four years down the line the following critical labour market institution boards are yet to be inaugurated. They are the NSITF, Michael Imoudu Labour Institute and PENCOM. This is not only a violation of the Act establishing these bodies but a denial of the critical role of social partners in the management of these boards.

    “Also, the National Labour Advisory Council has not been constituted thereby denying any avenue for tripartite consultation. No reason is good enough for this unhealthy development.”

    Speaking on the 2019 elections, Wabba said “As we approach the 2019 general election, we call on the election management body – Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) – and in deed all stakeholders to ensure that we have a peaceful, free, fair and credible elections in February and March, 2019.

    “Congress will continue to hold both the players and the referee in this very important election to account on their words and conduct. Nigerians must rise above partisan interests and become the winners of this election – not political parties and their candidates.

    “The truth is that we do not have any other country other than Nigeria to call our own and we must therefore stop the politicians from using the elections as a pretext to throw the country into crisis.

    “In defending and promoting the cause of Nigerian workers, our focus is to build workers’ power through organizing. We have worked tirelessly to promote causes that can enhance the quality of life and improve the income cum other working conditions of workers. We have paid close attention to workers’ education through our increasingly improved education programmes especially the Rain and Harmattan Schools.”

    On the economy, Wabba said “Our national economy given its vast potentials, amidst diverse challenges, showed some promises in recent times. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 1.81% (year-on-year) in real terms in the third quarter of 2018.

    “This is slightly better than the growth of 1.17% achieved in the third quarter of 2017. The recent GDP growth and increase in internally generated revenue are signs of the steady recovery of our economy from recession.

    “Despite these results, our economy remains largely import driven and dependent. The growth in the size of our economy – the biggest in Africa – is still non-inclusive as the gap between the rich and poor continues to widen. Though described as mixed, our economy is essentially rent seeking and still suffers from systemic distortions.

    “The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report for the third quota of 2018 indicates that the general number of persons unemployed in the country has increased by 3.3 million. The report further indicates that the combined rate of unemployment and under-employment rose from 40.0% in the 2017 third quarter to 43.3% in the third quarter of 2018.”

    He said Nigerians and the government should be worried that the increased pool of graduates, skilled and unskilled youth in the unemployment market especially rural unemployment is a time bomb, adding that attempt to sack workers under any guise as it happened in Kaduna State will complicate the situation.”

    He stressed that the over dependence of our economy on crude oil revenue and the mismanagement of our vast oil wealth through corruption perpetrated by successive governments continue to expose the nation to severe shocks from price fluctuation in the international crude oil market, saying “this was how we landed in the last recession.

    “While we commend the efforts of the current government on economic diversification particularly through agriculture, we are not unmindful of serious structural issues that undermine the progress being made, deeply limit inclusive growth and impact negatively on sustainable development. We will therefore continue to call on government to pay serious attention to these issues.

    Wabba informed the delegates that efforts were being made to reposition the Labour Party and make it a truly Democratic party that all workers will be proud of.

    He said “Your mandate to us to recover and reposition the Labour Party has been met with significant commitment and efforts. We have been able to secure a High Court order that has recognized the NLC as the custodian of the Labour Party. This success has made the task of recovering and repositioning the Labour party a lot easier.

    “Consequent upon the reconciliatory moves by this leadership and other stakeholders, we have agreed to hold an all-inclusive national convention of the Labour Party in order to elect genuine leaders that will translate into reality our shared aspirations to reposition the Labour Party as the numero uno political party in Nigeria.

    “We will intensify current initiatives to settle all the differences within the rank and file of the Labour Party and reconcile the warring factions. We will keep our focus on ensuring that the proposed all-inclusive National Convention of the Labour Party takes place sooner than later.”