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Tag: Welfare

  • Our govt is focused on welfare of common man – Osinbajo

    Our govt is focused on welfare of common man – Osinbajo

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government remains committed to the welfare of the common man.

    Osinbajo on Friday in Abuja made this known via a statement issued by his spokesman, Laolu Akande after receiving a delegation of the APC Professionals Forum at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    He said that APC is a party of the people and would continually ensure that the common man benefits maximally from the government.

    “This is a party of the common man; a party of the people, a party that takes as its cradle, the importance of ensuring that the common man benefits maximally from the government.

    “Which is why we have the big programmes like the Social Investment Programmes, the largest if its kind in the continent and several of such other programmes that emphasise how serious we take the lot of the common man.

    “While it was formed about nine years ago, the VP noted that the party has made an impact and is determined to improve the wellbeing of Nigerians; the party is also where many young people are.”

    According to him, APC is the ruling party in Africa’s largest democracy which by itself is a phenomenal achievement for such a young party.

    Osinbajo said that the APC is determined to ensure the country’s further growth and development as the party carried with it, the hopes and expectations of millions of Nigerians.

    “The party is not a mere platform for running for political office; it carries with it the hopes and expectations of millions of Nigerians and we must make it a place where they are comfortable, a place where they feel this belongs to us; we can even put our resources into it.

    “It is not just for politicians; it is for us all.

    “Our people, the Nigerian people, need hope; they need to be able to believe in the politicians.

    “They need to be able to believe in their leaders and if the leaders are within the political party, that political party must have an ideology that is attractive to them, that makes them feel wanted, that makes them feel cared for and I think that role is so crucial.

    “It is the role this Professional Forum must take on to itself; and what it entails aside from that logical objective of the forum; what it entails is actually defining in writing in various ways what our party stands for.”

    He acknowledged the significance of the forum in the scheme of things and urged the forum to play more important roles in shaping the party’s ideology.

    The vice president said that professionals are integral to ensuring that the party stayed focused on the wellbeing of Nigerians and its ideals, as stated in the Constitution and Manifesto respectively.

    “If the professionals cannot do that, then our party becomes all comers, anything goes so long as we have a platform to run for political office; but I think that we, especially professionals, have a unique advantage.

    “We have many who have run their businesses, who have professional organisations or who have excelled in their own professions and we know that the only way to do things properly is if we are able to press on without relenting.”

    The vice president said he hoped that the forum would also carry the hopes and expectations of millions of the party’s supporters nationwide.

    He also believed that the forum, made up of professional elites, would be of great benefit to the party and Nigeria because of its leadership and quality of professionals on its board of trustees and as members.

    In his remarks, a former Governor of Bauchi State, Mallam Isa Yuguda, who is the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the forum, said that professionals in the party felt the need to identify with the vice president being himself a professional.

    He invited Osinbajo to the forum’s upcoming event in Abuja.

    The delegation also included Deputy Chairman, Board of Trustees and former APC National Secretary, Waziri Bulama, Board of Trustees Secretary, Barr. Dapo Akinosun and the National Coordinator, Akeem Akintayo.

  • Reps Deputy Majority Whip tasks leaders on welfare for less privileged Nigerians

    Reps Deputy Majority Whip tasks leaders on welfare for less privileged Nigerians

    The Deputy Majority Chief Whip in the House of Representatives, Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha has called on political leaders on the need to give adequate attention to the less privileged in Nigeria.

    Hon. Onyejeocha, member representing Isuikwato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency gave the charge in Abuja, while handing over multi-million naira food items and other provisions to the Charity Hope and Faith, Orphanages Home, Apo Dutse, Abuja and Mother Theresa Children’s Home Gwarimpa- Abuja, to mark her 52nd birthday.

    Onyejocha also unveiled plans to embark on outreach to widows in Abia State, underscored the need for urgent interventions of spirited individuals, organisations and philanthropists seek the forgotten and cater to the need of the underprivileged.

    She also called on people in authorities and the well-to-do to cut down on needless celebrations and fanfare and do more to reach poor children and families in the fringes of the country, the orphans who have no one and youths who are wandering about.

    “This trying period calls for sacrifice, love and commitment from everyone of us who could afford to give selflessly, from what we have, to those who are in need.

    “It is a service to God and humanity to do good to all people irrespective of creed and backgrounds, and there is nothing more pleasing to the heart than making out time to reach out to others in need.”
    She also promised to continue to sustain her Outreach to the Widows in Abia State, while expressing her gratitude to family, friends and constituents who taken to the social media to celebrate her birthday.

  • Nigerian Army restates commitment to welfare of personnel

    Nigerian Army restates commitment to welfare of personnel

    The Nigerian Army has reiterated commitment to improve the welfare of its personnel towards effective discharge its constitutional mandate.

    Maj.-Gen. Usman Mohammed, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division, Kaduna, gave the assurance during the inauguration of Officers Transit Accommodation at the 73 Battellion, Janguza, on Sunday in Kano.

    Mohammed said the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai had accorded premium attention to the development of infrastructure designed to improve the overall wellbeing of soldiers.

    He said the project initiated in Aug. 2020, consisted of three blocks of 15 houses, designed to address accommodation problems and to give a facelift to the barrack.

    The GOC said the leadership of the army had also embarked on construction of additional houses for officers and men as well as perimeter fencing to enhance security at the barrack.

    Mohammed urged the officers and other personnel to ensure effective utilisation of the houses and other facilities inaugurated at the barrack.

    Also speaking, Brig.-Gen. Bamidele Alabi, the Commander 3 Mechanised Brigade, Kano, lauded the COAS for the gesture, adding that it would address shortage of accommodation in the barracks.

    Alabi commended the contractor for the timely completion of the project according to the contract agreement.

    Mohammed accompanied by other senior military officers inspected ongoing housing, offices and training shed projects.

    The GOC was conducted round the projects by Yahayadeen Imam, the Manager, Deetech Nigeria Limited.

  • ASUU and the welfare of academics! – Hope Eghagha

    The last time I made a public comment on the ASUU and federal government ding-dong affair titled ‘ASUU Members as National Farmers’, my tongue was in my cheek. That is, I entertained my readers (I think) to no end. This at the expensive expense of the Education Minister of State, judging from the reactions I received from different persons and the number of times the essay was forwarded. I was an ‘Alawadite’ in that essay. And for good measure I enjoyed the barbs because I caught myself laughing when I reread the essay! It was an expensive joke, you know! One could easily have been misunderstood! We know what once happened to a poet who wrote bad verses! Nigeria is very hot now especially with the youths whose tempers are boiling like a volcano and we must mean what we say and say what we mean! So there!

    Today, for clarity, my hungry tongue has been brought out of my lean cheeks and I intend to make plain comments on welfare for ASUU members. My thesis is simple: ASUU should henceforth focus only on the welfare of its members. I refer to bread and butter issues! Nigeria has become a place where only bread and butter matter. How else can we account for the monthly Naira-millions which a Nigerian senator takes and the odd monthly-five-hundred-thousand Naira that a professor takes home at the peak of his profession? And except we carry out the fight no one will remember us in the kingdom!

    I am sure some of my colleagues and Nigerians will take umbrage with the ‘selfish’ thrust of my thesis. That should not be a problem. I recall what a professor told me in 1992 when ASUU was negotiating with government so that a professor could take home six thousand naira monthly. At that time the average monthly pay of the academic was about one thousand naira. ‘Young man’, he said, ‘where do you think government can get that kind of money? He was worried about government that did not care a hoot about him!

    The Jega-led ASUU executive negotiated a monumental increase in wages for lecturers that year after an emir was reported to have observed that he paid some of his palace guards one thousand naira monthly! Whether this anecdote is true or false I do not know. The rest is history. At the core of my presentation is the folkloric Urhobo saying which crudely translated means ‘ours is ours, but mine is mine! It was Achebe who eloquently advised us not to be forced into a situation where we ‘can only enter our house through another man’s door! ASUU, it is the salary that will be ours! That is why we have it as our union; not the nation’s union!

    The salary structure of academics is a welfare issue. The state of infrastructure and equipment in the universities is primarily the business of government or the proprietors. Strictly speaking, it is NOT the business of any union to press for more lecture rooms or laboratories to be constructed and furnished. Students’ unions should demand these of the proprietors. Of course, we all recollect why and how ASUU started the struggle for government to pay attention to learning conditions in the universities. No one can fault ASUU on that. Classroom space and numbers were inadequate. Some universities had no lecture theatres. Students sat on and still sit on the floor to receive lectures in some institutions. Hostel accommodation was below standard, dehumanizing in some cases. ASUU, standing in loco parentis, seeing the gradual erosion of the facilities and standards which some of us met in the university, decided to cry out. The problem now is that whereas infrastructure has improved, welfare and emoluments have remained stagnant. ASUU has cried more than the bereaved! Hehehehehehe!

    When I mention welfare, I think of the value of all the allowances, for example, hazard allowance or postgraduate supervision and all the earned allowances. Or travelling for international conferences. One could serve as Head of Department for three years and earn nothing for those years. Something is wrong. A union is as strong and healthy as its members. Too many members have suffered in silence as the earning power of the academic is daily eroded. Side hustles save the day when one is in a city that can provide alternative sources of income. In some universities, a retiring professor’s salary is stopped three months to retirement for accounting purposes! Callous. Inefficient! Foolish, very foolish, in these days of computerized accounting!

    I dare say that since after 1992, what ASUU has been trying to do is to enter its house through another man’s door! Simply put: the 1992 agreement which gave academic staff a decent salary at that time has long been eroded by prevailing economic and political factors. Inflation is the main cause of the erosion. Through the years, ASUU has definitely fought for improvement in university conditions. But the pre-1992 slogan ‘my take home pay does not take me home’ needs to be resurrected and vigorously pursued. When next ASUU calls its members out on a strike, lecturers’ salaries should be, must be on the front burner. I am familiar with the argument that salaries can easily be slashed or taxed whereas allowances cannot be taxed or slashed. The reality on the ground is that the basic salary structure of academics is due for a radical review. The mechanism that is supposed to adjust salaries of academics has failed as far as I know!

    So, when next ASUU calls out its members or contemplates a strike, a salary review must be included on the list of demands. And that should be soon! Academics have made enough sacrifice for the nation, yet there is little appreciation from the public. A PhD holder who is Lecturer 11 in the university takes home less than one hundred and fifty thousand per month! None of our children want to take to university teaching seeing how their daddies struggled to make ends as highly-educated but poorly remunerated workers. I read a post somewhere when a bright guy changed his mind about taking up lecturing after he stumbled on the pay slip of his professor! It is not a joke. By training, academics are usually reticent about money matters. Job satisfaction is crucial, even fundamental. That moment, those years when one engaged young minds on intellectual issues, teaching, lecturing cannot be quantified in monetary terms. The feeling

    Finally, I commend ASUU for the long years of struggle and tenacity, holding together all academics under one umbrella despite regional, religious, or ethnic differences. Only private universities have stayed out of ASUU. ASUU can manage diversity better than our regular politicians. I recall the forty-eight hours (all day and all night) NEC meeting in Maiduguri during the June 12 crisis and how wisdom prevailed in the end so that that imbroglio would not split ASUU. The communiqué that came out was a study in brinksmanship. It etched a mark in my memory on crisis management based on a deep understanding of the overall interest of a group. ASUU now requires that ancient wisdom to handle the stomach infrastructure question of academics as we position the university system to meet the demands of the 21st century in a largely mercantile and rapacious world.

  • Saraki canvasses increased welfare for displaced persons

    Saraki canvasses increased welfare for displaced persons

    Former Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki has joined the global community to canvass that more attention should be given to the welfare of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) still trapped in various camps across the country as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency and banditry in the North East and North West parts of the country.

    Saraki in a statement issued in Abuja by his Media Office in commemoration of the International Day for the Remembrance of and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism noted that government, non-governmental organisations, Nigerians in general, development partners and the international community should not relent in continuing to provide relief materials for the victims of violence in IDP camps as a way of reducing the trauma they are going through.

    He noted that providing succour for victims of violence in their temporary abode at the IDP camps should be the first step in the reconstruction, resettlement and rehabilitation (3 Rs) plan to finally make the victims of violence get a final closure to their sad experience and restore normalcy in their lives.

    “We must pay more attention to providing more facilities for the convenience and benefit of the IDPs that will make their temporary stay in those camps less stressful and more comfortable. Today, as the global community pays tributes to the victims of violence, our attention should be focused on making their lives better.

    “It is obvious that the attention being given by privileged individuals, governments, international donors, development agencies and non-governmental organisations seem to be waning. We need to all redirect attention to the welfare of the IDPs and refuse to be distracted by the real security crisis that those camps represent, among other issues”, he stated.

    The former Senate President urged that adequate security should be provided in areas where the hitherto displaced people have taken the bold steps to return home.

    The former Senate President noted that attention should also be given to how to ensure that the people in the IDP camps eventually return home to their communities and start living normal lives.

    He noted that the need for immediate commencement of reconstruction, resettlement and rehabilitation of the communities affected by insurgency alongside the efforts to restore peace inspired the quick passage of the North East Development Commission (NEDC) Act by the Eighth National Assembly.

    He then advised the leadership of the NEDC to make the positive impact of the commission felt immediately by commencing quick restoration of the displaced people back to their communities in peace and devoid of any present or future trauma or harassment.

    “ At this point, it is important to join the global community in remembering and paying tribute to the victims of violent attacks by terrorists, bandits and other non-state actors. It is important to remember all Nigerians who have lost their lives to these wanton acts of violence and pay tribute to their memories. Not only to preserve the memory of their times on earth but also to serve as a marker to the Nigerian State on the need to do all that is necessary to put a stop to these acts of terrorism and ensure a return to peace and normalcy.

    “My prayers go to the soldiers, aid workers, residents and others who have over the years become victims of insurgency, violence and inter-tribal crises across the country. May Allah bless the affected families, communities and our country. May God continue to protect all those who are still involved in quelling all forms of violence in our country and may He restore peace and heal our land”, Saraki stated.

  • Ihedioha reassures traders' welfare, market development

    Ihedioha reassures traders' welfare, market development

    …as traders laud government policies
    Governor of Imo State, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha CON, has reiterated his commitment to ensuring the welfare of traders in the state.
    The governor also said his government is poised to providing basic infrastructure as part of his plans towards ensuring a conducive environment for business and economic boost in the state.
    He stated this when he met with the union leaders and traders at the Imo International Modern Market, Naze, known as Alaba Market on Tuesday.
    Governor Ihedioha also reminded them on the need to partner with the government in its efforts to achieve all round development, through payment of taxes and levies, stressing that, it is his desire to make Owerri and the state in general, the neatest in the country.
    “When I was campaigning, I promised our people that we shall be interested in the development of our markets. I am interested in providing infrastructure as well as relate with the security agencies for adequate security here.
    “We have taken note of your challenges and will take deliberate actions to alleviate the sufferings of traders and also grow the economy”
    Emphasizing the need for payment of tax, the governor said, “most importantly, you are expected to pay your taxes, because, the infrastructure would be maintained and that can only be done when you pay. And I want to assure you that the revenue we will generate, will be effectively utilized”.
    Earlier in their speeches, the Chairman of Imo State Market Development, Hon. Henry Onwukwe and the Chairman of the Electrical/Electronic section of the market, Chief Emeka Dike, who spoke on behalf of the entire traders, eulogised the governor for his concern to their welfare.
    They also threw their weight behind all his decisions and programmes since his assumption of office and assured of their continued support, adding that they are confident he will address their challenges.

  • Teachers’ welfare key to reviving education in Nigeria – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday in Abuja said reviving the educational sector, with renewed focus on teaching valuable lessons like integrity in schools, will require giving priority to the welfare and training of teachers, who directly create the enabling environment for learning.
    Buhari spoke while receiving a delegation from the Arewa House Centre for Historical Documentation and Research at the State House, Abuja.
    In a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and publicity, Femi Adesina, the President said the quality of training, welfare and happiness of teachers directly impact on the quality of education children and adults get in schools.
    He urged more focus and research on impact of teachers.
    The President spoke against the backdrop of a proposal by the Arewa House Centre for Historical Documentation and Research to start an annual, “Buhari Integrity Lecture Series’’.
    “If it has to do with integrity, we must go back to history and try to assess the contribution of teachers to education, where teachers treated every child as their own in instilling discipline and sharing of knowledge.
    “I have been lucky to be in boarding school for nine years, three years in primary school and six years in secondary school before I joined the military. And if we are talking of good education, it has to start with the teaching in schools, where children grow and the environment of learning,’’ he said.
    President Buhari said education cuts across the three tiers of government, and it was important to consider who pays the teachers at every level and if the teachers get adequately compensated to provide quality education.
    “We must make education and health a priority relative to the resources available,’’ he added.
    The President said the challenge of repositioning the educational sector and cultivating strong moral values in children goes beyond the northern part of Nigeria, and should be pursued holistically at a national level.
    “Your nomenclature is Arewa, but the problem of education is a national issue,’’ the President noted.
    President Buhari said focus must also be on providing accessible quality education for the privileged and underprivileged in the country, adding “we will have a better society when education is not only for those who can afford to pay expensive fees in schools.’’
    In his remarks, the Director of Arewa House, Prof. Idris Shaaba Jimada, told the President that there was a need to inculcate the virtue of integrity that he had stood for over the years, and propagated as an important aspect of development.
    Jimada said the Arewa House Centre for Historical Documentation and Research had decided on instituting “The Buhari Integrity Annual Lecture Series’’, which would appraise the President’s position on morality and inspire more people to appreciate integrity as integral to Nigeria’s development.
    “Integrity should be taught in our schools as part of civic education, and we are proposing that it starts with you,’’ he said.

  • Workers’ welfare: Has labour lost the plot? By Henry Boyo

    Workers’ welfare: Has labour lost the plot? By Henry Boyo

    By Henry Boyo

    The Oranised Labour movement celebrated this year’s 2018 May-Day with the traditional processions and fiery speeches from Labour Leaders in various State Capitals, including Abuja.

    Labour’s focal demand is for a steep upward reviewed of the present N18,000 Minimum Wage to N56,000/month. On their part, however, the Nigerian Labour Congress, “has decided that our demand is to be paid N66,500 as the new Minimum Wage, no more no less;” according to FCT NLC Chairman, Lawrence Amechi, “the present N18,000 is death wage under the current economic realities.

    Furthermore, the Union of Pensioners have also demanded a minimum pension of N40,000/month; while the FCT Minister, Mohammed Bello, also agreed that “indeed, N18,000 which translates to N600/day, clearly puts the Nigerian workers amongst the lowest paid in the world.”

    However, if over half of the States cannot fund their present monthly salary obligations, it would be clearly overoptimistic to expect that Labour’s demand will be fully met.

    The title “Workers’ Welfare: Has Labour Lost the Plot?” was first published on 20/10/2014; a summary of that paper follows, hereafter, please read on.

    “Trade Unions were a critical force in the agitation for Nigeria’s independence from British colonial rule. Regrettably, with the attainment of independence and the later advent of military dictatorship, Labour was deliberately fractionalized by successive governments and compromised, to become a mere shadow without its former awesome authority; indeed since after the failed campaign for the validation of 1993 elections, with the capture and incarceration, without trial, of Frank Kokori, Secretary General of NUPENG, Organised Labour now occasionally, sadly, finds its voice on issues relatingto minimum wage levels and the sustenance of the nationally disenabling economic strategy of subsidising fuel prices with billions of dollars annually.”

    “Surprisingly, Labour has inexplicably become mere spectators of unbridled treasury looting, blatant miscarriage of justice and impunity in public administration; consequently, the working class has largely been reduced to wandering flocks of sheep with well nourished but careless shepherds.”

    “Nonetheless, the question is how successful is Labour in its pursuit of realistic minimum wages and the sustenance of fuel subsidy. The May-Day speeches of Labour Leaders on Friday, 1st May 2009, for example, were strident on the demand for a reasonable minimum wage; consequently, the Unions demanded that the existing N7,500 ($50) minimum wage be increased to N50,000 ($333)/month. In reality, demands for between 2-20% wage increases are not unusual in better managed economies elsewhere, but a demand for almost 600% wage increase at a go would be unusual, and any agreed minimum wage would generally recognise the adverse impact of inflation on the purchasing power of all income earners.”

    “Inspite of an abiding annual inflation average of over 6%, the N7,500 minimum wage subsisted for over 10 years, with the consequent loss of over 60% of its purchasing value, before a higher minimum wage-level of N18,000 was adopted later in 2010. Similarly with average annual inflation rates of over 8% since then, the current minimum wage has also lost over 40% of its purchasing value; consequently, inspite of bountiful Naira supply as well as officially, declared foreign exchange ‘surplus’ in the National Treasury, the lowest paid workers, who constitute the majority of our population have equally become severely impoverished.”

    “The plight of workers would obviously be much worse where some states are unable to pay the N18,000 minimum wage or where government owes several months salary arrears; regrettably, there is no overt evidence of Organised Labour’s intervention to speak out or remediate the plight of the ordinary worker in such instances.”

    “However, Labour and indeed those Nigerians with a conscience would agree that N50,000 ($400) is probably more appropriate as minimum wage with the severe infrastructural deprivations in our social and economic environment, where a one-room abode in a ‘face me I face you’ apartment may cost as much as N10,000/month. Nonetheless, if some states are incapable of paying N18,000, how does one expect them to pay N50,000; besides, with annual inflation rate still hovering around 8%, over 40% of a N50,000 minimum wage would also be lost to inflation within 5 years without a wage review!”

    “Furthermore, experience has taught us from the time of the Udoji Salary Review that such ‘benevolent’ wage increases also drive the rate of inflation rapidly. So if nominal wage increases is not the answer, how then can Labour defend the existing purchasing power of its members if it is inappropriate to advocate for significant wage increments to ameliorate workers’ deprivations?”

    “Indeed, if quantum increases could ultimately make the wage earner and the economy worse off, then it is imperative that we consider the relevance of less nominal income actually buying more without fuelling inflation; for example, if N18,000 current minimum wage actually commands a value of about $110 at an exchange rate of N160=$1, the same wage rate would command the purchasing value of $220 if the Naira exchange rate is N80=$1.”

    “In other words, the stronger the Naira the more enduring would be the purchasing power of the presently paltry minimum wage and the better it is for the average worker. The question then is how can the value of the Naira be improved against the dollar? We do not advocate that a benign rate be adopted by fiat; all that is required is for the Naira to be given a fair chance to determine its own level without the insistent atavistic intervention by the Central Bank, when it continuously floods the market with fresh Naira values and instigates an embarrassing market surplus to compete against the rationed dollar supplies of the CBN when it substitutes Naira for dollar allocations. But, are the Unions interested in such enduring solutions to the issues of low wages, inflation and workers’ welfare? The answer to this question is out there in the wind!”

    “Similarly, a Naira exchange rate of N80=$1 will immediately also abolish any further payment of wasteful fuel subsidies, so that such funds could be more appropriately deployed to remediate our infrastructural deficit so that the masses will enjoy better facilities for education, health, transportation, nutrition, etc.”

    “Indeed, Labour leaders know that the economic contradictions, that impoverish Nigerians are instigated by the inexplicable unyielding burden of surplus Naira despite heavy government debt accumulation and an alleged scarcity of funds to grow our economy. Curiously, Labour remained mute even when the immediate past CBN Governor, Lamido Sanusi willfully confessed to government’s continuous folly in placing deposits at 0% with banks, only to return thereafter to borrow from the same banks and pay double-digit interest rates for money the Apex Bank intends to keep as idle funds.”

  • Dogara tasks EFCC on better welfare package for staff

    Dogara tasks EFCC on better welfare package for staff

    The Speaker of the House of Assembly, Yakubu Dogara, on Wednesday paid a working visit to the new head office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), describing it as ‘a dream come true’, while advocating for better welfare package for staff.

    Dogara, who stated this at the EFCC’s new office, said the huge amount expended by the government on the project is justified after considering the quality of infrastructure put in place and the fine finish of the work.

    TheNewsGuru reports the project which has been under construction for over eight years is being handled by Julius Berger Construction Company and is due for commissioning next week Tuesday.

    “You can see now, we have an excellent facility. I want to commend all who have contributed to the successful completion of this project particularly the Acting Chairman, EFCC, and his team. For me, it is a dream come true. This is the kind of thing we want to see,” Dogara said.

    He urged the EFCC staff to reciprocate the good gesture of the enabling environment provided by the government in ensuring that “looters of our commonwealth are brought to justice”.

    The Speaker stressed the need for better welfare package for the Commission staff, acknowledging the risks associated with their job.

    “This is a cutting-edge facility that has been delivered. It should be merged with cutting-edge services. Investing in physical infrastructure without investing in the people who combat the scourge is not enough.

    “I think it is time for us to look at the welfare package of the EFCC staff, who are putting their lives on the line to ensure that they combat the menace that has caused retardation to this great nation, in terms of economic advancement and development,” he said.

     

  • Workers’ Day: FG pledges commitment to enhance workers’ welfare

    he Federal Government has pledged its commitment to enhance workers’ welfare and prosperity for all citizens in the country.

    Sen. Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, made this pledge in a statement signed by Mr Samuel Olowookere, Director of Press in the ministry to mark the 2018 Workers’ Day celebration.

    Ngige said that workers should use the occasion to reminisce on the positive outcomes of the labour’s struggle for a better working conditions and decent work environment.

    According to him, this is an administration that places a lot of premium on the welfare of workers and all citizenry and has done so in very transparent manner.

    “Our openness is to provide enough window for all Nigerians to appreciate the state of the nation and the efforts of the government.

    “Our modest achievement in creating equable condition for job security and improved welfare for workers.

    “This is as evident in the fact that no Federal civil or public servant has lost his or her job in the last three years of the administration despite economic downturn.

    “This is as well as the ongoing effort to give effect to a new national minimum wage easily bear out Federal Government’s commitment to the upliftment of the workforce.

    “This year’s celebration therefore presents an opportunity for a collective reflection on the contributions of the labour movement to national growth.

    “We should also reflect on the steadfastness of the Buhari administration to the welfare of workers on the other,‘’ he said.

    He, however, called for the continuous support for the success of administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    He said the cardinal objective of the present administration was the revival of the economy; enhancement of the security of the nation and zero tolerance for corruption.

    “ The Federal Government has so far covered a considerable millage notwithstanding teething challenges.

    “ I therefore solicit your continued support towards bringing these national goals to fruition,’’ he added.

    He further assured all workers of better days ahead.

     

    NAN