Strike looms, as Osibanjo's meeting with governors ends in a deadlock

The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has met with some state governors and ministers over the minimum wage demanded by the organised labour in the country.

The meeting held behind closed doors on Monday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Governor Abdul’Aizz Yari (Zamfara), told State House correspondents after the meeting that it ended inconclusively.

He said although the governors were willing to pay the N30,000 new minimum wage demanded by workers, they lacked the capacity to do so.

Governor Yari disclosed that an emergency meeting of the Governors’ Forum would be convened on Tuesday.

Discussions at the meeting, according to him, will focus on finalising agreements on an exact minimum wage the states are willing to pay their workers.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, and Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, attended the meeting.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, and the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, were also present.

The meeting also had in attendance Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, as well as his Plateau and Kebbi counterparts, Simon Lalong and Atiku Bagudu.

The Federal Government convened the meeting one week after the organised labour threatened to embark on a fresh nationwide strike on November 6.

The labour body had disclosed its next move in a statement jointly signed by the leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) on October 21.

It explained that the decision was necessary following what it described as the government’s unwillingness to implement a new minimum wage for workers in the country.

Comments

Stop inflicting economic hardship on Ebonyians with tax demands, ex-SSG implores Umahi

Former Secretary to the State Government of Ebonyi State, Professor Benard Odoh, has implored the Ebonyi State Governor, Engr. David Nweze Umahi, to desist from inflicting economic hardship on Ebonyians. In an open letter he made available to Paulokahblog Friday morning, Odoh said that, "as a way of cushioning the devastating effects of the covid-19 pandemic on Ebonyi’s struggling economy, there is urgent need to jettison the collection of tenement rates/ground rents from landlords, excessive/forceful drive for quarry haulage levies and waiving of personal income taxes". Odoh regretted that, despite the efforts of the state government in policing its borders against the COVID-19 pandemic, Ebonyi State, as of May 21, has recorded 13 cases and expressed hope that the situation would not get worse in the state in particular and Nigeria in general, even as he pledged support for the state government in ensuring that the active cases are managed successfully "to t...

Don't quit by Edgar Albert Guest

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, when the road you're trudging seems all uphill, when the funds are low and the debts are high, and you want to smile but you have to sigh, when care is pressing you down a bit - rest if you must, but don't you quit. Life is queer with its twists and turns. As everyone of us sometimes learns. And many a fellow turns about when he might have won had he stuck it out. Don't give up though the pace seems slow - you may succeed with another blow. Often the goal is nearer than it seems to a faint and faltering man; Often the struggler has given up when he might have captured the victor's cup; and he learned too late when the night came down, how close he was to the golden crown. Success is failure turned inside out - the silver tint of the clouds of doubt, and when you never can tell how close you are, it may be near when it seems afar; so stick to the fight when you're hardest hit - it's when things seem...

Why Ebonyi State is absent at national sports festival- Umahi

The Ebonyi Government on Saturday gave reasons for the non participation of its athletes at the on-going National Sports Festival (NSF) in Abuja. Mr Charles Akpuenika, the state’s Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the government was concentrating on locally-organised sporting events to unearth hidden talents. Akpuenika noted that the government organised several sporting events in 2018 as the talents discovered would be groomed to equitably represent the state in zonal and national competitions. “We have organised the inaugural David Umahi Tertiary Institutions Games (DUMTIGA) where several talents were discovered from the participating tertiary institutions in the state. “The state also organised the David Umahi Para-military games where security agencies to promote unity among the agencies and ensure the fitness of their officers. “The school sports competition which was last organised in 2008 is presentl...

Paul Okah

Search This Blog