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  • NLC, TUC propose N56,000 as new minimum wage

    NLC, TUC propose N56,000 as new minimum wage

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) have jointly proposed N56,000 as the new minimum wage to the Federal Government as against the present N18,000.

    The NLC president, Ayuba Wabba, said this at a news conference on Wednesday in Abuja.

    Wabba said both the NLC and the TUC made the formal demand on the proposed national minimum wage to the Federal Government on Tuesday.

    “I can say now authoritatively that as of yesterday (Tuesday) we made a formal proposal to the Federal Government of N56,000 to be the new minimum wage.

    “The demand has been submitted officially to government and we hope that the tripartite system to look at the review will actually be set up to look at it.

    “Our argument is that, yes, it is true that the economy is not doing well, but the law stated that wages for workers must be review after every five years.

    “So, the issue must be looked into by the Federal Government and workers should not be seen as sleeping on their rights,” the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted the NLC president as saying at the forum.

    Wabba recalled that the last review of the national minimum wage was done in 2011, saying the setting up of a tripartite committee to review the newly proposed national minimum wage was long overdue.

    He said it was imperative that government should set up the tripartite committee for the review of the new minimum wage.

     

  • TUC to Buhari: relinquish minister of petroleum position

    TUC to Buhari: relinquish minister of petroleum position

    The Trade Union Congress (TUC) Tuesday asked President Muhammadu Buhari to relinquish the position of Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources because the office is too critical to the economy to be combined with the office of the President and Commander-In -Chief.

    According to the congress, the perfect candidate for the job should be someone who has the necessary knowledge, experience and competence that would directly supervise the affairs of the ministry and report to the president.

    TUC however noted that although the position of the Minister of State for Petroleum and Mineral Resources should remain as a junior minister in the ministry, a different Group Managing Director (GMD) of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) should also be appointed to directly supervise the affairs of the NNPC.

    Its President, Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama, made this call at the “Save Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Round Table Conference in Abuja.

    He said: “There is cogent need for appointment of a substantive Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources. The ideal candidate for this should be someone who has the necessary knowledge, experience and competence, and who would directly oversee the affairs of the ministry and report regularly to the President.

    “That position is too critically important to the economy to be subsumed as one of the many offices or portfolios of the President and Commander-in-Chief. Of course the position of Minister of State for Petroleum and Mineral Resources should continue to exist as a junior minister in the ministry. A separate Group Managing Director (GMD) of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) should also be appointed to directly supervise the affairs of the NNPC.”

    The TUC boss added that all the appointees must be persons of bold, incorruptible and sound principles.

    Kaigama pointed out that the cabals in the sector emerged due to corruption in the corporation.
    He stressed that “it is high time we halt the ugly trend whereby members of the cabal are paid billions of naira for ‘fuel imports’ that never reach our shores.”

    In his address, the President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Wabba, said that Nigeria is the worst case scenario in the management of oil and gas wealth in the world.

    He told a story of his colleague in Ghana that revealed that his country is guarding against the Nigerian experience in her fledging oil sector.

    The labour leader noted that the problem in the oil and gas industry is not lack of law but adherence to the laws.

    He advised Nigerians to oppose anyone that flout the law, adding that he refused to pay N200 per liter for the  petrol he bought  in a station in Kaduna State two weeks ago because the pump price is N86 per litre.

    Chairman of the occasion, Ambassador Paddy Njoku in his address said that for government to achieve the aims of the Nigerian Content Monitoring Board Act , it is vital to continually collaborate with industry stakeholders to ensure the effective implementation and enforcement of the act.

    He sought the passage of the pending Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) into law in order to strengthen the progress that the board has made.

    In his presentation, Dr. Louis Brown Ogbeifun, submitted that “it is better to have a not too perfect PIB that could be reviewed in the next few years than allow the status quo to remain as it has been these last 16 years.

    “Stakeholders should close ranks as the death of the oil and gas industry shall have ripple effects on the state of the Nigerian economy as we still run a monolithic economic system.”

     

  • Senate inflated cost of cars for members – NLC

    Senate inflated cost of cars for members – NLC

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Monday said the Senate leadership inflated the unit cost of the Toyota Land Cruiser jeeps it procured for Senators by over 100 percent, demanding that the cars be returned immediately to the suppliers.

    The NLC also accused the Senate of spending money without appropriation when it publicly admitted that its standing committees cannot carry out their functions due to paucity of funds.

    In a statement made available to The Nation in Abuja and signed by its President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, the congress said while the senate purchased each of the cars for N35.1 million, the actual market price of the vehicles stands at N17 million.

    The NLC said the Senate should prepare for a show down with Nigerian workers, civil society organisations, women groups and students if they fail to return the vehicles to the suppliers.

    The statement reads: “We consider appalling, insensitive and greedy the decision of the Senate to acquire 108 Toyota Land Cruiser jeeps (one for each member less the Senate President) after collecting car loans in August last year for the same purpose.

    “It is equally morally despicable and shameful that they are doing this after publicly admitting that the standing committees of the Senate are unable to perform their statutory functions due to paucity of funds.

    “We at the Nigeria Labour Congress equally consider it a willful and grievous criminal act, the inflation of the unit cost of each of the cars by over a 100 percent, as each car supposedly cost N35.1 million instead of N17 million.

    “Aside from this, Nigerians are keen to know from where they got money for the purchase of these cars without appropriation.

    “The defence offered by the Senate spokesperson, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, is laughable and childish. According to him, Special Advisers use jeeps, why not Senators or do Nigerians expect them to trek to work? And in any case, cars are capital projects!

    “Couldn’t this have been put to better uses such as the constituency projects of these same Senators?  At a time with severe economic challenges and deepening poverty in the land, can the Senate afford this level of reckless luxury and arrogance?

    “The answer is, “No.”

    “Their multiple acts of criminality, ranging from acquiring these cars after previously taking loans for the same purpose, spending money without appropriation and over inflating costs constitute not just corruption but a crime against the Nigerian people whom they claim to represent.

    “Accordingly, we demand they return those cars to whoever supplied them or the appropriate agencies prosecute them for corruption. In the event none of this happens, they should be prepared to keep a date with Nigerian workers and their civil society allies including market women and students. No one is above the law.”

  • CCB/CCT Act’s amendment: NLC, TMG, Falana slam Senate

    •SERAP petitions UN special rapporteur

    More criticisms yesterday trailed the planned amendment by the Senate of the Act establishing the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) and the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) described the amendment as a legislative ambush capable of scuttling Senate President Bukola Saraki’s trial.

    In a statement, entitled: “A Dangerous Amendment” by its President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, the congress said Nigerians believed that the amendment was aimed at scuttling the trial.

    The NLC said while the intention of the Senate might be noble and in line with their legislative function, the timing of the amendment calls to question the real intentions of the upper house.

    The statement reads: “It is quite intriguing that it took the trial of the Senate president for the Senate to discover the flaws in the law(s).  Putting it bluntly, despite the spirited defences by the deputy Senate president to the contrary, not a few believe that this legislative move is a desperate attempt to scuttle the trial of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, at CCT.

    “On our part, we do not think the privileges of the Senate president extend to exemptions from civil or criminal trials. At the moment, only the President and his deputy, the governor and their deputies enjoy this privilege. Thus, what the Senate is trying to do is no more than a legislative ambush.”

    The Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) urged the Senate to halt the desecration of the upper chamber of the National Assembly with the amendment.

    The TMG, in a statement in Abuja yesterday by its Chairman, Ibrahim Zikirullahi, said the amendment showed the level of desperation and the despicable extent to which legislators were willing to descend.

    “As far as we are concerned, Saraki’s trial at the CCT is his personal business.

    “ It is, therefore, a vexatious affront on the sensibilities of Nigerians that the weight of the legislature would be brought to bear in this disturbing attempt at given him political rehabilitation.

    “TMG frowns at this gangster approach to legislative business.”

    Also yesterday, Lagos lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) advised the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, not to lend his weight to the proposed amendment by the Senate.

    Falana told Dogara that the proposed amendments were illegal and unconstitutional.

    He argued that where the constitution already made provisions for an Act the National Assembly is seeking to amend, such new provisions would be regarded as invalid, duplication and inoperative.

    He contended that the CCB and CCT Act could not be amended without first amending the constitution and advised him and other members of the House to persuade the Senate to terminate the proposed amendments.

    The lawyer noted that when the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Act 2000 was amended in 2003, following investigation allegations of corruption involving the leadership of the Senate, the Federal High Court set aside the amendment since it violated the constitution.

    Falana gave three reasons why the amendment proposed by Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, which the Senate passed the second time is unconstitutional.

    He said: “First, to the extent that the proposed amendment is designed to serve the interests of an individual, it is a violation of section 4 (2) of the Constitution, which has empowered the National Assembly to make laws ‘for the peace, order and good government of the federation or any part thereof…’

    “Second, notwithstanding that the Senate president has decided not to preside over the plenary in the Senate, whenever the bill is being debated, the whole exercise is a clear violation of Paragraph 1 of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers enshrined in Part 1 of the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution, which stipulates that ‘a public officer shall not put himself in a position where his personal interest conflicts with his duties and responsibilities’.

    “Third, Section 3 of the Act, which the National Assembly seeks to amend, has become spent. Senator Nwaoboshi was reported to have said that he was proposing an amendment to Section 3 of the Act to provide ‘for an opportunity for the person whose rights and obligations may be affected to make representations to the administering authority before that authority makes the decision affecting that person’.

    “With respect, Section 3 of the Act is in pari materia with Paragraph 3 (e) of Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the constitution. To that extent, Section 3 of the Act is inoperative and invalid in every material particular. In Attorney-General of Abia v Attorney-General of the Federation (2001) 17 WRN 1, the Supreme Court held: ‘Where the provision in the Act is within the legislative powers of the National Assembly, but the constitution is found to have already made the same or similar provision, then the new provision will be regarded as invalid for duplication and or inconsistency and therefore inoperative. The same fate will befall any provision of the Act which seeks to enlarge, curtail or alter any existing provision of the Constitution. The provision or provisions will be treated as unconstitutional and therefore null and void.”

    The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) yesterday said it petitioned United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights Prof. Philip Alston, asking him to request the Senate to withdraw the proposed amendments.

    In a petition by its Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, the organisation argued that the proposed amendments, “if passed into law, would weaken the act, undermine the fight against corruption, exacerbate poverty and violations of internationally recognised human rights.”

    The organisation urged the Special Rapporteur to pressure the Senate to withdraw the amendments and ensure that a climate of legislative impunity and official corruption is not allowed to undermine the mandate of the Special Rapporteur to advance human rights and address poverty.

  • NLC seeks stoppage of double pay for ex-governors, others

    NLC seeks stoppage of double pay for ex-governors, others

    Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday urged former governors and their deputies drawing both pension and salary to refund such money.

    The congress argued that it was illegal and immoral to collect double pay from the public coffer.

    In a statement by its President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, the congress said state laws legalising such acts should be repealed.

    The NLC asked the Federal Government to act in the spirit of its fight against corruption by not only ensuring these ill-gotten payments were refunded, it should ensure that no governor ever create for themselves such criminal advantages.

    The statement, entitled: “No double salary for any public officer”, reads: “We are saddened by revelations that not less than 21 governors and deputy governors are senators or ministers and drawing billions of naira in pension payment and salaries (at the same time) while millions of wage earners go without salaries for months on end.

    “Our revulsion stems from the fact that most, if not all of these ex-governors, coerced or seduced their Houses of Assembly into approving for them these bogus and illegitimate pension rates and property (as cars and houses) in contravention of the extant laws and regulations by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission.

    “Similarly, they are mindlessly drawing these allowances (that they do not need) from our commonwealth when the states are in serious financial difficulty and poverty is rife in the land.  They get paid regularly whether the state can afford it nor not.”

    be made to refund what they have taken.

    “We demand that all citizens be treated equally in furtherance of their fundamental rights.

    “We also demand that the Federal Government in the spirit of its fight against corruption not only ensure these ill-gotten payments are refunded forthwith, it should ensure no governor ever create for themselves such criminal advantages. Nobody is above the law.

    “We have no doubt that these illegal “severance” payments running into billions of Naira, if released into the system, will significantly uplift the quality of the life of the citizenry,” it said.

  • NLC seeks transparency in police recruitment

    NLC seeks transparency in police recruitment

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called for transparency in the police recruitment approved by the Federal Government. Ten thousand are to be recruited in the exercise.

    NLC President Ayuba Wabba said the recruitment would also help reduce employment in the country.

    “We appeal to the police authorities and other Nigerians in the position of authority to conduct this  exercise with all sense of responsibility, care, transparency, justice, equity and minimum discomfort or pain to the applicants.  There is hardly any family that does not have an army of applicants. This, however, should be no justification for subjecting this process to a selfish end or abuse,” he said.

    He urged the government to ensure that other sectors become vibrant to employ workers.

    In another development, the NLC has praised the National Assembly and President Muhammadu  Buhari for the “rigorous scrutiny” of the 2016 budget.

    In a statement, Wabba hailed the National Assembly for exposing the imperfections in the budget and  President Buhari for his courage in exposing the padding of the budget by a cabal.

    Wabba said it was within the power of President to withhold his assent until the National Assembly sends the details to him.

    He said: “It is within the province of Mr President to do so as a matter of personal style or principle. More over, we have had a presidential precedent. But beyond all this, it is pertinent to note that, the right of due diligence which the National Assembly exercised to the hilt and led to the unearthing of discrepancies in the budget should similarly be extended to Mr President’’.

  • NLC demand refund of double salary from ex-governors, deputies

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)  Thursday said all former governors and their deputies drawing both pensions and salaries at the same time to refund such money forthwith as it was illegal and immoral to collect double pay from public coffers.

    In a statement signed by President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba and made available to The Nation, the Congress said state laws legalizing such acts should be repealed forthwith.

    The NLC also asked the federal government to act in the spirit of its fight against corruption by not only ensuring these ill-gotten payments are refunded forthwith, it should ensure that no governor ever create for themselves such criminal advantages.

    The statement entitled “No double salary for any public officer” reads: “We are saddened  by the recent revelations that not less than 21 governors and deputy governors are Senators or Ministers and drawing billions of Naira in pension payment and salaries (at the same time) while millions of wage earners go without salaries for months on end.

    “Our revulsion stems from the fact that most, if not all of these ex-governors coerced or seduced their various Houses of Assembly into approving for them these bogus and illegitimate pension rates and property (as cars and houses) in contravention of the extant laws and regulations by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission.

    Similarly, they are mindlessly drawing these allowances (that they do not need) from our commonwealth when the states are in serious financial difficulty and poverty is rife in the land.  They get paid regularly whether the state can afford it nor not.
    “We hold the view that State laws are subordinated to Federal laws and when there is a conflict they should give way to the Federal laws.

    “We similarly hold the view that it offends the principle of universal justice, equity and good conscience when laws are specifically or premeditatively made for or against an individual or a group of individuals in order to exact an undue advantage or revenge.

    “In view of the above, we demand that these offensive State laws be repealed forthwith, and the ex-governors and their ex-deputies be made to refund what they have taken because it is illegal and immoral to collect double pay from the same public coffers. We demand that all citizens be treated equally in furtherance of their fundamental rights.

    “We also demand that the Federal Government in the spirit of its fight against corruption not only ensure these ill-gotten payments are refunded forthwith, it should ensure no governor ever create for themselves such criminal advantages. Nobody is above the law.

    “We have no doubt that these illegal “severance” payments running into billions of Naira, if released into the system, will significantly uplift the quality of the life of the citizenry.”

  • NLC urges Dickson to pay civil servants

    NLC urges Dickson to pay civil servants

    The Bayelsa State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ndiomu George-Diepre, has decried the plight of government workers.

    Regretting the nation’s dwindling economic fortunes, the labour leader urged Governor Seriake Dickson to pay workers to enable them meet their personal and family obligations.

    He said there were about 45,000 civil servants in the state’s employ.

    George-Diepre said: “The NLC, as usual, is still on the struggle. Right now, we are on air, calling on the government to settle the unpaid salaries.

    “While we understand the economic situation in the country and how it also affects the states, we are still asking that the government should pay outstanding salaries of workers, particularly the pensioners and, of course, the local government workers.

    “There are also a lot of scams and ghost workers suspected in those areas. The governor is saying he wants to do verification; it is after that he promises pay. But Labour is saying the workers should be paid because they have suffered for a long time.”

    But an official in the Governor’s Office said Bayelsa was not the only state owing salaries.

    He said there were other states owing workers between seven and eight months.

    The official, who spoke in confidence, added: “So, why is Bayelsa State so peculiar that reporters want to do a report on it?

    “The Federal Government is owing. You heard the secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), saying the Federal Government is owing N6 billion every month. Is that not scandalous for a nation like Nigeria? Is it not more newsworthy than workers resorting to begging? Check the facts: we are owing just three months.”

  • NLC to Buhari: dismantle oil sector cabal

    •Labour seeks prosecution of fuel subsidy ‘thieves’

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said yesterday that the Federal Government must take necessary steps to dismantle the cabal in the downstream sector of the oil industry in Nigeria if the increasing cases of petroleum scarcity is to be checked.

    The Congress frowned at illicit financial flow out of the country, adding that such action was aimed at further pauperising the country and asked the government to commence the process of investigation on the Nigerians named in the Panama Papers scandal or any other scandal connected therewith.

    In a communique at the end of its Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting in Abuja, the Congress accused the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu of making himself the Sole Administrator of the nation’s oil sector by weakening and bringing under the control of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources agencies in the Ministry that are supposed to act independently.

    In the communique signed by the President of a Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba and General Secretary, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, the Congress accused the management of the downstream sector of the oil industry of lack of transparency, pointing out that there was criminal power-play in the sector between the key players and a cabal that places its selfish interest above that of the nation.

    The Congress lamented that cases of those who corruptly abused the subsidy process which came to light following the nation-wide protest against price-increase and public hearings at the National Assembly in 2012 have not been diligently prosecuted.

    Stressing that Dr. Kachikwu has become the virtual Sole Administrator of the industry, given that the boards of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)  and Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) remain unconstituted, the Congress argued that other regulatory agencies, such as DPR, which are expected to function independently have either been sidelined, weakened or brought under the control of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

    The NLC Central Working Committee also argued that the review of petroleum product’s prices and templates without recourse to the board of the PPPRA is a violation of the PPPRA Act, calling for the immediate reconstitution of the boards of the PPPRA and NNPC in accordance with the extant laws of the land.

    It called for a speedy end to the scarcity of fuel, which has unleashed unimaginable hardship on the people with collateral damage to the economy and asked for diligent prosecution of those found wanting or culpable in the subsidy scams.

    While expressing concern over the ceaseless incidence of illicit financial flows out of Africa in general and Nigeria in particular via tax evasion, avoidance, inversion and other acts of criminality, the Congress observed that the Panama Papers scandal in which some Nigerians have been named is a further confirmation of the findings of the Thabo Mbeki Panel on Illicit Financial Flows.

    According to the NLC, if not checked, the incidence of illicit financial flows will further undermine any restorative effort by government(s), pauperise the economy as well as deepen the dependency syndrome in Africa and in Nigeria.

    It called on on all African countries to put in place necessary legislations, policies and programmes that will reduce to the barest minimum incidence of illicit financial flows out of Africa and  to work with the international community for the speedy and sustainable implementation of the recommendations of the Thabo Mbeki Panel on Illicit financial flows.

     

     

     

    The Congress lamented the increasing incidence of casualisation of workers in the country, describing it as a strategy by employers to exploit workers and deny them the benefits of their labour such as fair pay, gratuity, pension and others.

    It observed that induced casualisation as is practised is in violation of existing labour law, adding that this has created a situation akin to slave labour and called on the government to enforce the law on casualisation in order to free its citizens from slavery and strengthen the anti-casualisation Committee of the Congress to continually fight the menace.

    The Congress said there was an increasing adoption of neo-liberal policy of outsourcing by many companies and even agencies of government and called on its affiliate unions to spare no effort at unionising workers engaged by outsourcing agencies in order to ensure fair pay and good conditions of service.

    The Congress asked the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment which serves as the licensing agency of outsourcing firms to transparently develop criteria for licensing, monitoring and sanctioning of the outsourcing firms in conjunction with the tripartite partners.

    It commended the National Assembly and President Muhammadu Buhari for thoroughly working on the budget and for having the courage to deal with the budget-cabal. Congress expressed the hope that the imperfections of this year’s budget will not be allowed to re-occur.

    The Congress also commended President Buhari for taking bold measures aimed at rebuilding the economy, and identified these measures to include renewing or strengthening of relations with nations of worth, signing of bilateral/trilateral agreements, creation of a safe haven for investment, fighting corruption, restoring internal security, tracking and recovering looted funds and resisting pressures to further devalue the naira.

    In spite of these measures, the Congress said the naira has continuedto fall against the major currencies, inflation continues to rise, and the productive sector continues to shrink with more job losses.

    It called on government to consult more widely on issues of economy as well constitute an economic team (with an encompassing membership including Labour) as part of the process of fashioning out a credible/coherent economic policy capable of responding to the present challenges.

    The CWC condemned the action of the Kaduna State government which they say violates labour laws and other international labour conventions which guarantee the right and protection of workers to freely associate, unionise and operate independently of government.

    The Congress stressed that the directive by the Kaduna State government to workers to fill a form which requests them to say “yes/no” to belonging to unions constitutes an interference on the independence of the trade unions.

     

    It resolved to work in collaboration with the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) to organise a one day nation wide rally and protest and another one day of national solidarity rally with Kaduna workers in Kaduna to protest the high-handedness of the government.

     

    It also resolved to hold an emergency National Executive Council (NEC)  meeting with the leadership of the TUC to take a definite position on the planned rally aimed at forcing the Kaduna State government to rescind its decision.

    It also observed that in spite of the February 8 rallies/picketing organised to protest the February 1 hike in electricity tariff, the subsequent resolutions of the two chambers of the National Assembly (NASS) calling for a reversal and the outcry of the generality of the Nigerian people, the hike has not been reversed.

    It also said that in spite of the promise(s) made by Government to constitute a Committee to resolve the matter, none to date has been constituted in spite of promptings.

    It resolved to call an emergency meeting of NEC in conjunction with TUC to perfect the process of a one-day national warning strike/protest to impress on government the resolve of the labour movement, civil society organisations and Nigerians not to accept the increase in tariff and the need for government to reverse the increase.

    The Congress, in consideration of the painful intractable problems around the power sector, also resolved to call on government to muster the necessary courage to revisit and review the privatisation exercise of the power sector.

  • NLC files contempt proceeding against DISCOS

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has filed contempt proceedings  against electricity distribution companies (DISCOS) for alleged flouting a court order on hike in tariff.

    Justice Mohammed Idris Federal High Court had restrained DISCOS from increasing electricity from February 1.

    Speaking with The Nation, NLC President Comrade Ayuba Wabba said the issue was already in court. “As I am talking to you now, a process of committing all of them that have violated that order on contempt charges is on the way. Already, they have been served and the case is coming up very soon,” he said.

    Wabba said the increased tariff has adversely affected the economy and the welfare of every Nigerian, adding that many people would not be able to pay the new tariff. He said no strategic stakeholder, including the NLC, was consulted by the DISCOs before the tariff increase.

    ‘’They (DISCOs) claimed they consulted people, but who?” he asked, wondering who they consulted when the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and organised labour that actually represent many Nigerians were all crying foul.

    He said it was obvious the DISCOs only consulted their friends and brothers before coming up with the idea of increasing electricity tariff. He added that what is even more worrisome is the fact that meters are not available.

    “This is the background that made us provide a national platform where all people would be allowed to air their grievances. And that we did and we made our point very clear. It is an ongoing process and we are giving it a firm commitment,” Wabba said.

    He said he spoke with the Chairman Senate Committee on Labour a few days ago, and the Chairman requested the NLC to submit its memorandum.

    The NLC chief said based on this, there would be a joint public hearing by the two chambers of the National Assembly where labour would once again raise the issue

    Wabba said labour would consult and come up with its own engagement strategy.

    According to him, this is necessary to avoid the exploitation of consumers by DISCOs because of the absence of meters.

    The labour unionist said one of the issues labour was canvassing was that people should not pay bills if they don’t have meters because it is the responsibility of DISCOs to provide meters to Nigerians.

    Wabba argued that the issue of non-metering and estimated  billing are exploitations, adding that such issues are typical of a business that is monopolised.

    He said after the so-called privatisation, what was done was to transfer the nations’ common wealth to the hands of a few, adding that a business that is monopolised is only driven by profit.

    “That is why they say they are looking at profit margin; that the profit margin is not there,” Wabba said.