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Minimum Wage Review ’ll Not Trigger Inflation -Wabba …As NLC Says Protest Against NHIS’ Executive Sec Continues
The President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr Ayuba Wabba, has said that the proposed workers minimum wage will boost the country’s economy rather than trigger inflation. The NLC boss said this while addressing newsmen in Asaba, Delta State, yesterday .
Wabba was in the state as a Special Guest at the 6th Quadrennial National Delegates Conference of the National Union of Hotels and Personal Services Workers. He said that the assertion that an increase in workers’ salary would lead to inflation was not true. “It is not true and has no empirical bases that an upward review of minimum wage would trigger inflation in the country.
“This is because when the minimum wage was increased in 2011, in fact, the inflation rates went down. “Go and look at the records and the data, it would rather boost the economy because it would increase the people’s disposable income.
“You remember that in the midst of recession in the U.S., one of the strategies President Barrack Obama used to boost the economy of the country was to increase the minimum wage.
“This, because as at that time, production was going on; people didn’t have money to purchase and what he (Obama) did was to increase the minimum wage and there was money; General Motors started to produce and people were able to buy,” he said.
Wabba added: “In the World Bank report of recent, it has been proven that when there are money in the hands of many it is a means to addressing poverty.
“Therefore, in the context of Nigeria, it is very clear and proven that once you are able to remove many of our people out of poverty, their will be a boost in our economy.
“This is because those at the lower echelon that are receiving N18,000 cannot afford good meals, that is the reality and truth.” He, however, blamed the challenges being faced by the people on high cost of governance in the country. “On cost of governance, if you remember, the first engagement NLC had in 2016 was a national rally for good governance and the fight against corruption.
“Minimum wage has international dimension, and that is why it is a convention of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). “The ILO convention 131 is the law about minimum wage and that is why even in the most capitalist economy, you have the minimum wage law.
“In a particular state recently when we were arguing on the ability to pay the minimum wage, N10 billion was used to charter flight in that particular state, so we must look at it from diverse ways the challenges we are having,” he said.
He said that if it was true that Nigeria belonged to the third world country and as such, its people would continue to be impoverished, “how come that members of the National Assembly receive the best salaries in the world ?”
“If the minimum wage of a local government councillor is N200,000, we must be on the same page and we must argue on the bases that all of us are Nigerians and we go to the same market.
Meanwhile, following the refusal of the Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Usman Yusuf, to obey the decision of the scheme’s governing council to suspend him over alleged gross misconduct, some unionists have continued to mount pressure on the federal government to compel him to vacate office.
Speaking yesterday in Abuja during the ongoing protest by NHIS workers against Yusuf’s continued stay in office, the unionists said his obedience of the suspension order would allow a thorough investigation into allegations raised against him.
According to Abubakar Shanabo, a representative of the NLC and the Chairman, Medical and Health Workers Union (MHWUN) FCT Council, the protest over the resumption of the Executive Secretary must continue until victory was ascertained.
“This is the third day of this protest and we will not relent, I have been mandated by the national body that we are in full support of the struggle. “We insist that Yusuf remains suspended and must vacate his office for the administrative panel to carry on with their investigation.
“We call on the Federal Government to do the needful as it stands for integrity with zero tolerance for corruption, if nothing is done TUC and NLC national bodies will carry on with the protest on Oct 29. “The enrollees are being affected and not getting the maximum health services they deserve, therefore peace and sanity must return to the scheme,’’ he said.
Similarly, Adediwura Adeshina, who is Chairman, Stakeholders Committee of National Association of Nigeria Colleges of Education Students also called on the federal government to resolve the continuous conflicts in NHIS.
Adeshina said that the scheme expected to function effectively as the health insurer for tertiary institution students across the country could not function due to problems. “I was part of the representatives in 2013 that signed an agreement during the introduction of the Tertiary Institution Social Health Insurance Scheme under the NHIS.
“I know the way it started and I have the guideline of how it should function and all the students complied and keyed into the scheme.
“Today, the Nigerian students are not benefiting from the scheme anymore; if the system is not working the regulatory body should take over and sanitise it. “We will not relent in the struggle, this is a sacrifice and we will pay the price for the freedom of our members,’’ he said..
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.