2023 IWD: “President-Elect Tinubu Will Ensure Improved Income” – Activist
Tunde Akanbi, Ilorin.
As the world commemorates the 2023 International Women’s Day, the Organized Labour in Nigeria and women in the informal sector have been assured of improved wage/ income, empowerment and job security under the leadership of the President-elect Asiwaju Bola Ahmed and Vice President-elect Shettima Khashim.
The Director General, Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS) Ilorin, Comrade Issa Aremu, gave this assurance on Wednesday while declaring open activities to mark the 2023 International Women’s Day (IWD) organized by the women commission of the institute.
International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.
Aremu, who is also the director of the 75-person Labour Directorate of the Asiwaju/ Shettima Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), said the record of labour administration of the President-elect as a former two-term governor of Lagos state (1999 – 2003; 2003 – 2007) and campaign programme of the All Progressives Congress (APC) positioned him “as the possible best labour-friendly President” in waiting.
According to him, Bola Ahmed Tinubu was the first presidential candidate to engage both the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) members on critical labour market issues with promises of social dialogue as a means for resolving inevitable disputes in the world of work.
He described the President-elect and the Vice President-elect as “tested and trusted democratic state and non-state icons” who would consolidate on some of the pro-labour legacies of President Muhammadu Buhari and engage the Organized Labour on all outstanding issues of living wage, gender equity, pension, labour motivation, productivity, social protection and dispute resolutions.
“The President-elect had been a frequent visiting friend of labour who often intervened between the Organized Labour and government on contentious policy issues at the time it was not fashionable to do so.
“Lagos state under Bola Ahmed and subsequent Governors has been known to be at the vanguard of improving workers’ welfare.
“He not only implemented all the minimum wages passed in the last 20 years but has not been known to have defaulted in salary payment to its workers.
“Despite the withheld Local Government Fund, the state still prioritized payment of salary for its workers including local government employees.
“Lagos has successfully implemented the contributory pension scheme to ensure health retirement and guarantee regular payment of pension to workers in future,” he said.
Comrade Aremu said while many states are yet to sign on to the compulsory Contributory Pension Scheme ( CPS), Lagos since 2004 has paid as much as N150 billion to almost 30, 000 retirees, adding that President-elect Asiwaju remains “the best labour-friendly President-in-waiting that would guarantee decent work”.
The director general, who commended Nigerians for keeping faith with democratic process in the past 24 years despite the challenges of rising inflation and wage income poverty, also hailed the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress for the successful conclusion of the 13th National Delegates’ Conference in which Comrades Joseph Ajaero and Comrade Prince Adeyanju Adewale emerged as the National President and National Deputy President respectively.
He, however, decried the sharp drop in the number of women as candidates in the 2023 elections compared to 2019 elections.
“Democracy is only sustainable with inclusive participation of women as candidates as much as voters,” he asserted.
Edited by Amaka E. Nliam
