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Resolve Minimum Wage Issue, PENGASSAN Tells FG …Labour ‘’ll Not Accept Less Than N30,000 -Ajaero
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has urged the Federal, state governments and the organised private sector to resolve the differences in the ongoing negotiation for a new national minimum wage.
The National President of the Union, Mr Olabode Johnson made the appeal on Tuesday in Abuja while addressing newsmen on its planned 40th anniversary.
He described as ungodly, the shenanigans displayed by some state governors when it comes to payment of workers’ salaries.
“ We need to give priority to the issue of minimum wage now before the political campaigns starts in full by next month, all parties need to agree on a particular amount on this issue.”
According to him, PENGASSAN believes that the Federal and state governments have the capacity to resolve the minimum wage issue before campaigns start, so that it can be passed into law.
“PENGASSAN, as an affiliate of the Trade Union Congress, TUC, we are also bound to look at the dictates of the agreement.
“ When you look at the issue of the new minimum wage, you will agree that it is long overdue. You must be able to give Nigerians a minimum wage. Look at the current hardship, look at depreciation; look at what everybody is facing.
“I also want to appeal to the Federal and state governments, Nigeria Employers Consultative Assembly and other stakeholders, that a stitch in time saves nine.
“ Whatever everybody is supposed to do, because, by the end of November, politics will start; now is the time to do everything we have to do in that regard,’’ he said
He added: “ for every state that has political appointees, I have never seen that they are been owed salaries.
“ On the issue of minimum wage, we want to appeal to government to give it priority.
“Let this bickering of N24,000, N25,000 and N30,000 be sorted out, so that you don’t create an impression with Nigerians that you are insensitive to their plights. Let us pay everybody his or her due.”
On the planned 40th anniversary of the union on October 18, he said that President Muhammadu Buhari, would be the special guest of honour.
He listed others expected at the event to include, Aliko Dangote, Dr Maikanti Baru, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, state governors, chief executive officers of international oil companies and security experts.
Johnson noted that past labour leaders who fought for the actualisation of June 12 would also be recognized at the anniversary.
He added that the union would unveil its world class event center during the event, and would employ qualified Nigerians to run and mange the operation of the center.
He said that the conference has the theme: ‘Labour, fuelling the economy.’
Meanwhile, a labour leader, Mr Joe Ajaero, yesterday said that the organised labour would never sign any agreement with the Federal Government on new National Minimum Wage which is less than N30, 000. “N24, 000 can never be the new Minimum Wage for workers. If the government pays it, then it is an award,” Ajaero, President, United Labour Congress (ULC), said.
Youth group writes Mimiko, calls for his exit from Labour Party Ajaero told the Newsmen in Lagos that the tripartite committee agreed that N30, 000 would be paid at the end of its negotiation as the New Minimum Wage for workers. He said it was sad that N30, 000 was adopted by the tripartite committee but the representatives of government announced N24, 000.
NLC The labour leader said that the organised labour would stand against it and would not sign any document, which does not reflect the true deliberation by the tripartite committee. He said that the committee had concluded its meeting on the new wage and labour was expecting the government to invite them to sign an agreement on the decision.
“No more meetings. A date has been fixed to sign an agreement on the figure agreed. On that day, if the amount is not what the tripartite committee agreed, the organised labour will not sign,” he said.
Recalls that on Nov. 27, 2017, President Muhammadu Buhari, approved the appointment of a 30-member tripartite National Minimum Wage Committee for the negotiation of a new national minimum wage for the country. Labour collectively demanded for N65, 000 per month as the new Minimum Wage for all workers as harmonized by the organised labour.
However, after many delays on reaching an agreement on the figure for a new wage, the NLC, TUC and the ULC on Sept. 26 went on a two-day nationwide warning strike, to protest government’s delay on the wage by not allowing the committee conclude its job.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
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RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.