‘Don’t Tamper With Workers Pay’ …TUC Cautions NASS On National Wage Deregulation …As Reps Vote On Constitution Review Report, Today

L-R: Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh; Minister of State for Defence, Erelu Olusola Obada, and the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Dele Ezeoba, after a meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, last Monday

The Trade Union Congress, (TUC) yesterday, said it would be impossible for the Senate to deregulate the Minimum Wage, and called on the legislators to reconsider their position on the issue.
The TUC President, Mr Bobboi Kaigama, was reacting to the removal of the National Minimum Wage from the “Exclusive List’’ to the “Concurrent List’’ in the ongoing  constitution review by the Senate.
He said the decentralisation of the National Minimum Wage Law showed clearly that the upper legislative arm was acting contrary to the will of the Nigerian people.
Kagaima said that if the Federal Government should legislate for federal workers and the states legislate for the state workers, who would legislate for the private sector.
He explained that creating two regimes of minimum wage and excluding the private sector in the fixing of wages in the country would not be welcomed by the congress and the labour movement in general.
“I appeal to the senate to rescind their stand as government cannot be calling for social dialogue and still be doing things that will bring crisis.
“For us to stay off strike and live in peace, creating two regimes of minimum wage and excluding the private sector in the fixing of wages will be resisted by labour movements.’’
Kaigama called on the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, to appeal to the Senate, on behalf of the labour movements, to change its stand on the issue.
The House of Representatives in Abuja, yesterday, suspended voting on the constitution review report in order to perfect the efficiency of the electronic voting machine (EVM).
The voting was deferred today to enable the electronic platform to be properly energised.
The electronic voting machine is being installed by the Nigerian Communications Satellite Ltd. (NIGCOMSAT).
The House had exhaustively considered all the items in the report on July 18 and resolved to vote on them on July 23.
However, the vote could not take place due to the inefficiency of the electronic voting machine in the chambers.
Announcing the deferment of the vote, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, apologised and pleaded with Nigerians to be patient and allow the assembly to instal a perfect voting system.
He explained that the assembly chose to use the EVM because “there is nothing like manipulation in the voting process.’’
The speaker promised that efforts were being made to perfect the working of the machine.
He said that the house wanted to perfect the system so as to give Nigerians a satisfactory result.
“I seek the understanding of the every Nigerian, we have decided to allow the system to work perfectly.
“What is worth doing is worth doing well, we want to take this process in a very transparent manner,” he said.
The speaker brought the Director-General of NIGCOMSAT,  Mr Ahmed Rufai, into the chambers to brief the legislators on the state of the EVM installation.
In his remarks, Rufai gave an assurance that his organisation would instal a perfect electronic voting system that would produce credible and transparent results for Nigerians on the constitution review report.
Reacting to the suspension, Rep. Lanre Odubote (ACN-Lagos) in an interview with newsmen said that the suspension of voting was to enable the electronic platform to be properly energised.
He said that it was only when the option of electronic voting failed that manual voting would be adopted.
Odubote appealed to Nigerians to exercise patience as the house would vote on the amendment today.
According to him, the present amendment to the constitution will not address the fundamental issues confronting Nigeria as a country.
“As far as I am concerned, this constitution we are amending is just an attempt, it is not going to address the fundamental issues.
He said that the amendment did not take care of fiscal federalism, state police and devolution of power.
The legislator said that there was no substitute for a national conference but added that as long as his colleagues had decided to go ahead with the review, he had no option.