TheNewsGuru

Tag: Ngige

  • More troubles for Nigerian varsities as ASUU splits into factions

    …as Ngige confirms receipt of new union application

    The Ministry of labour and Employment, has confirmed receipt of application for the registration of a new University Union, Congress of University Academics (CONUA), to be formed out of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

    Dr Chris Ngige, the Minister, in a telephone interview on Sunday, said that the ministry had in April received the application from CONUA to be registered as a new union in the university.

    He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the application was awaiting deliberation as stipulated by Trade Union laws.

    According to him, a committee will be set up to define modalities before it will be approved.

    “They have not been registered yet. Their application is in the ministry. It has not been treated.

    “We are still looking at their application. I asked a committee to look into it, when we look at the committee’s report, we will know what to do.

    “They submitted it even before I left office initially, they submitted the application in April,” he said.

    On whether CONUA would not duplicate the functions of ASUU, Ngige said that would be the duty of a committee set up on the matter to reveal.

    The National Coordinator of CONUA, Mr Niyi Ismaheel, said on Sunday in Abuja that CONUA had a sole purpose of redefining unionism and restore peace and stability in the universities in Nigeria.

    NAN recalls that Ismaheel, while addressing journalists at the end of its first National Stakeholders’ Forum at the Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU Ile-Ife, said the union was formed with the goal to formulate a new approach of engagement in addressing the welfare of its members.

    According to him, the union will help put to an end unnecessary delays in the academic calendar of Nigerian students, following frequent strikes.

    “The Union, which started in OAU now has Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Federal University, Oye Ekiti, Federal University, Lokoja and Kwara State University, Molete as members.

    “The union is putting necessary documentations in place for official recognition by the university management and the government,” he said.

    As at the time of filling this report, ASUU President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi had not responded to calls placed to his phones. (NAN)

  • FG may sack workers to meet new minimum wage demand – Ngige

    …says N580bn needed to pay salaries annually

    Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, on Thursday, said that the demand of labour over the implementation of the new minimum wage would cost the Federal Government N580 billion annually.

    Ngige said that such adjustment, in line with labour’s demand, was not sustainable as the government would have to lay off some workers to be able to meet their demands.

    The minister said government cannot afford that kind of money now, adding that the focus of President Muhammadu Buhari’s government is on workers on grade level 1 step 1 and level 6 step 1 where the impact of the wage would be felt by workers.

    The Minister disclosed these on Thursday in Abuja when the leadership of United Labour Congress (ULC) led by its President, Mr Joe Ajeiro, paid him a courtesy at the ministry.

    While urging workers to show more understanding to the plight of the federal government, Ngige said the current economic realities, may make the new wage bill not feasible.

    He said that the government was avoiding a situation where it woul have to lay off workers, adding that this would add to the burden of the citizenry.

    Ngige appealed to the labour to accept the consequential adjustment from levels 7 to 17, adding that the federal government had only three months left to implement the new minimum wage.

    He said the government would not tell the labour leadwra what it could not pay, stating that no worker deserved to be owed salary.

    The minister said: “There is no problem with disagreement in the labour system, when can sometimes disagree to later agree, on the national minimum wage, it will translate to an additional N580billion if government agrees to the consequential adjustment labour is proposing.

    “Government cannot afford that kind of money now, besides the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is more interested in the lowest cadre of workers which are those on grade level 1 step 1 and level 6 step 1, these are the ones who the N30,000 will have greater impact on.

    “Government has done their own homework and brought out what they can use to defend this consequential adjustment. Grade 1 to 6 does not have any problem, but 7 to 14 band and 15 to 17 band this is where we have the problem.

    “Once you finish a minimum wage and go into consequential adjustment you are trying to reach a collective bargaining agreement and once you are trying to reach and once you are the principle of ability to pay comes in.

    “So if you push government to go and accede to an increment which its resources cannot accommodate, you are indirectly asking them to retrench workers so that the few that are remaining will get this big big money.

    “We don’t want that, from 2015 the president has made it clear that he is not out to inflict pains on Nigerians and that he does not want to create unemployment but even at that our increase in population is galloping and our resources is not consequentialy increasing to meet up that is why we have a lot of unemployed youths on the street today.

    “We need to arrive at an agreement as soon as possible so that we can use the 2019 budget allocation to deframe this consequential adjustment because it will be bad if we are unable to do it and we finish this financial year by December because the budget circle is going to return to January/December 2020 so we we have three months only before this recurrent funds as well are swept back into government treasury, that is the law.”

    He regretted the inability of the joint negotiating team of both the government and labour to agree on the consequential adjustments, insisting that the new wage may become bloated by workers on grade levels 7-14 and 15-17.

    Already organised labour has started mobilising their members to embark on strike on the 16th of this month.

    Ajaero, in his remarks, appealed to the minister for prompt payment of the new minimum wage, stressing that the private sector must also be compelled to pay the N30, 000 wage.

    He said that there was need to review obsolete laws that were not in tune with present reality, adding that a situation where some private sectors paid their employees N10,000 and N15,000 was unacceptable.

     

  • My redeployment, evidence of my versatility —Keyamo

    My redeployment, evidence of my versatility —Keyamo

    Former Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Festus Keyamo (SAN), has said that his redeployment from the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs to the Ministry of Labour and Employment was proof of his versatility.
    He thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for the redeployment, saying it was proof of his ability to do many diverse things.
    Taking to his verified Twitter handle @fkeyamo on Tuesday night, Keyamo had tweeted:
    The tweet has since generated 977 comments, 1,100 retweets and 4,200 reactions.
    Many of his Twitter followers applauded him, others criticized him, while many more condemned the Buhari administration for not making up its mind from the outset as to which ministry it wanted to put Keyamo.

     

  • Photos: Keyamo confirms redeployment to Labour Ministry, meets Ngige

    Photos: Keyamo confirms redeployment to Labour Ministry, meets Ngige

    Festus Keyamo, Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, on Tuesday confirmed his redeployment to the Ministry of Labour and Employment by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Keyamo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), confirmed the development on his verified twitter handle on Tuesday evening with a copy of the redeployment letter.

    The minister also posted pictures of him exchanging pleasantries with Dr Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Employment.

    He said he was ready to serve in any position as minister, and thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for his redeployment.

    He said, “On The Move Again: Two Portfolios In Two Months! Just been redeployed to the Ministry of Labour and Employment to work with my long-time big brother, H.E, Chris Ngige.

    “Thank you, Mr. President for finding me versatile enough to move around. Always ready to serve in any capacity.”

    Meanwhile, the presidency had earlier announced Keyamo’s redeployment in a letter signed by Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha.

    A statement from the Director of Information at the Office of Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Willie Bassey, also confirmed the mini reshuffling.

    According to the statement Keyamo would replace Tayo Alasoadura as the Minister of State at the labour ministry, while Alasoadura replaced him at the Niger Delta Affairs ministry.

  • You’re too small to diminish me, Peter Obi tells Ngige

    You’re too small to diminish me, Peter Obi tells Ngige

    The vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the February general elections, Mr. Peter Obi, has said the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige cannot diminish him.

    He said Ngige’s achievement as the governor of Anambra State was too little to erase his (Obi’s) achievements and reputation before the people of Anambra State who he served for eight years.

    He asked Ngige to focus his energy on how to make Nigeria work, rather than dissipating energy on how to pull him down.

    Obi spoke through his Media Adviser, Valentine Obienyem in a statement made available to journalists.

    The PDP VP candidate was reacting to a newspaper publication( not TheNewsGuru) credited to Ngige wherein the minister allegedly said he was ashamed of the quality of roads constructed by his successors, including Obi.

    Obi in the statement wondered why Ngige loved attacking him, stating that he had hardly made any bad comments against Ngige even in the heat of electioneering.

    He said, “What is most condemnable in Ngige’s attacks are the lies he tells just to bring Obi down. How could he mention roads such as Abatete-Nteje-Aguleri-Otuocha road and Igboukwu-Ezenifite-Umunze, Iseeke roads and deliberately forgot that Obi did greater portions of those roads?”

    “Over 90 per cent of the roads, Ngige mentioned he built were done in his Local Government Area.

    The statement said though Obi used local contractors to build roads during his reign as governor, major road contracts in the state were done by expatriates at the time.

    It added, “Knowing the importance of road maintenance, shortly before he left, Obi set up the Anambra State Road Maintenance Agency with full compliments of brand new equipment.

    “He also leftover N4bn in the Ministry of Works for road maintenance before he handed over.

    He asked Ngige to stop comparing his tenure as Anambra State and that of Obi because he achieved little or nothing in his 33-month reign as governor of the state before a Court of Appeal, Enugu Division nullified his election in 2006.”

  • Ngige is a square peg in a round hole-NLC tells Buhari

    Ngige is a square peg in a round hole-NLC tells Buhari

    The Nigeria Labour Congress has cautioned President Muhammadu Buhari not to return Dr Chris Ngige as the Minister of Labour and Productivity in the next cabinet.
    It warned that returning the former Anambra State governor as minister would create industrial crisis, adding that Ngige lacked the approach to lead workers.
    Towards the end of Ngige’s term as labour minister, there were clashes between him and labour leaders over his postponement in inaugurating the board of the National Social Insurance Trust Fund more than three years after the expiration of the tenure of the last board. Labour also took on him over his exclusion of Frank Kokori as the chairman of the board. The union held a protest against him in his house which led to a fracas that landed some NLC members at the National Hospital in Abuja after they were allegedly attacked by thugs. President of the NLC, who led the protest alleged that the thugs were sent by Ngige to attack NLC members.
    The Nigeria Medical Association, National Association of Resident Doctors, labour unions and some Nigerians also took on Ngige over his remark on a televised programme that Nigeria had no problem with doctors moving abroad for greener pastures because there were enough of them in the country to man hospitals.
    When contacted, the Personal Assistant to Ngige, Nwachukwu Obidiwe, said Ngige had no power to assign a ministry to himself, adding that all the problems that the ministerial nominee had with labour unions were settled before the end of his first term in office as a minister.
    However, the Secretary of the NLC, Dr Peter Ozo-Eson has urged the Federal Government to assign Ngige to another ministry to avert industrial actions.
    He said, “We think that government will be looking for problem if Ngige is returned to the Ministry of Labour and Productivity as minister because he does not understand how the place works and his own approach will create unnecessary industrial crisis.
    “If government is properly advised, it should look for where to put him. Ngige is a square peg in a round hole in the ministry.”
     

  • Doctors free to leave Nigeria– Ngige

    Doctors free to leave Nigeria– Ngige

    The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, has said doctors who feel they want to relocate in search of greener pastures, are free to do so because the nation has enough medical personnels.

    Ngige made this known on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Wednesday.

    The minister made the statement while responding to a question on brain drain and the deliberate recruitment of Nigerian doctors by foreign embassies in Nigeria to the detriment of the nation’s health sector.

    Ngige, who is also a medical doctor, said: “No, I am not worried (about doctors leaving the country). We have surplus. If you have surplus, you export. It happened some years ago here. I was taught chemistry and biology by Indian teachers in my secondary school days.

    “There are surplus in their country and we also have surplus in the medical profession in our country. I can tell you this. In my area, we have excess.

    “Who said we don’t have enough doctors? We have more than enough. You can quote me. There is nothing wrong in them travelling out. When they go abroad, they earn money and send them back home here. Yes, we have foreign exchange earnings from them and not just oil.”

    Asked if he was sure of what he was saying, the minister said it was good for doctors to travel out as they would be trained and their capacity to work would improve.

    “Will you call that brain drain? I know a couple of them who practise abroad but set up medical centres back home. They have CAT scan, MRI scan which even the government cannot maintain. So, I don’t see any loss,” he said.

     

  • NSITF Appointment: Kokori weeps, accuses Ngige of oppressing him with Buhari’s name

    NSITF Appointment: Kokori weeps, accuses Ngige of oppressing him with Buhari’s name

    Former General Secretary of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) Comrade Frank Kokori on Thursday shared emotional tears when Organised Labour stood solidly behind him to insist he be inaugurated as Chairman of the Board of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF).

    This was after the Minister of Labour and Employment dropped his name and appointed another chairman.

    The inauguration of the Board of the NSITF by the Minister had been delayed for over one year by the Minister, leading to a conflict between him and National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole who insisted that the board be inaugurated in line with the directives of the President.

    However when the Minister decided to inaugurate the Board, Kokori’s name was omitted and replaced with Austin Enajemo-Isire as chairman, a position strongly resisted by Organised Labour who stormed the Minister’s conference room to demand that Kokori be inaugurated.

    In his show of gratitude to his former colleagues, Kokori could not help but shed tears, saying he was being oppressed by the Minister even though he laid his life for the actualisation of democracy in the country.

    In a shaken voice, Kokori told the Labour leaders: “Today, I am very emotional and want to cry. I want to weep for this country. I am proud of you, my comrades. I have done my best for this country.

    “When nobody raised their voice against the military, I came out against the military to fight for freedom and democracy of Nigeria.

    “I spent four good years in one of the worst prisons in the world, in Bama prison and in solitary confinement.

    “In 1997, I was declared a prisoner of war by Pope John Paul. The same year, the Madibba, Nelson Mandela also declared me a notable world prisoner of conscience.

    “I stood for this country and in all my years of service, there were temptations to take some of the biggest bribe.

    “But I stood my ground for democracy and 20 years into the same democracy, Comrade Kokori is being oppressed by somebody like Ngige. What is the reason?

    “The reason is because Frank Kokori is regarded as a man of integrity, a man of honour and a transparent Nigerian.

    “This is a government that talks of integrity and you allowed a man like Ngige to humiliate me for two years after my appointment.

    “Yesterday, they now said I should go to Micheal Imoudu. If they had given me Micheal Imoudu when I retired from NUPENG, I should have accepted.

    “Why should I subject myself to trauma for two years and you promised that the appointment remains and congratulated me for more than five times.

    “The President assured me during the last June 12 exercise that they will not do anything to my appointment.

    “I feel Ngige is on his own, dropping the name of the President, not the President I know and who assured me that he will not change my name.

    “I am thankful to the Nigeria labour movement and the great union called the National Union of Petroleum and Natural gas.

    “I spent the whole of my youthful life to build this union as a fighting machine. I thank you all for your support and may God bless you all.”

  • New Minimum Wage: We’ll resume talks with NLC, TUC on Sunday – Ngige

    The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, says conciliation on the national minimum wage will continue on Sunday despite the court injunction restraining organised labour from embarking on strike.

    The National Industrial Court had on Friday ordered the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) labour not to go ahead with the nationwide strike scheduled for November 6.

    Justice Sanusi Kado gave the order in a ruling on an ex parte application moved on behalf of the federal government by the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Dayo Apata.

    The unions had threatened to commence an indefinite strike on November 6 to press for a new minimum wage of N30, 000 for workers.

    The minister in the statement, however, insists that the conciliation meeting involving organised Labour, the organised private sector and government scheduled for Sunday remain unchanged.

    “The conciliation meeting involving the Organised Labour, the Organised Private Sector and Government scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 4 at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation by 6 p.m. is still on course and will hold,’’ he said.

    Mr Ngige said this would be followed by another meeting of the National Tripartite Minimum Wage Committee meeting on Monday, November 5 at the same venue.

    The minister appealed to all tripartite members to attend the meetings in the interest of the nation and finding a solution to the minimum wage impasse.

  • Minimum wage: Employees cannot dictate salaries to their employers – Ngige

    The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, has insisted that employees cannot dictate to their employers what they ought to earn but an agreement must be reached collectively.
    A statement by the Director (Press) at the Ministry, Samuel Olowookere, said the minister said this when the new Director-General of Nigeria Employers Consultative Association, Mr. Timothy Olawale; and his predecessor, Mr. Olusegun Oshinowo, visited him.
    Ngige said, “We need to arrive at a figure which the employers can afford to pay as an employee cannot fix a figure for the employer. Rather, it must be based on mutual agreement by the tripartite partners.
    “It is not a function of moving motions or voting at the National Tripartite Negotiation Committee that the figure must be as the organised labour appears to make it look.
    “There is absolutely therefore no need to heat up the polity. The government’s proposed new minimum wage figure is clearly based on critical facts and indices incapable of causing disequilibrium in the economy.”
    The minister said it was important for the organised labour to accept a new minimum wage based on the capacity and the ability of both the government and the private sector to pay.
    He appealed to NECA to appeal to the organised labour to accede to the new minimum wage. figure mutually agreeable to all the social partners.