The Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives, Hon Tajudeen Abbas has appealed to the Nigerian Labour Congress to shelve its planned nation wide strike.
He made the appeal in his welfare speech as the House resumes plenary.
He said that the considering the economic challenges, the organized labour under the aegis of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) seems to have lost patience with the painstaking effort of the government to plan and provide sustainable minimum wage and palliatives to citizens as the organized labour it appears would embark on a nationwide strike by this midnight following the expiration of a 21 days ultimatum issued to government.
“As the peoples’ representatives, we feel and equally share in the pains of our people at these very difficult times. However, I would like to appeal to the Nigerian Labour Congress to consider the various actions being taken by the Federal Government to alleviate the current hardship faced by Nigerians. As promised earlier, this House remains committed to getting a survival wage to all Nigerian workers. The 10th House had assured Nigerians that we would be interfacing between the organized labour and the government to quickly work out a realistic new national minimum wage and such other palliatives to enable citizens cope with the economic impact of fuel subsidy removal, the downward fall of the naira to the dollar, skyrocketing cost of food and general high cost of living in the country. It is in our considered opinion that embarking on a nationwide strike at this point will only aggravate an already bad situation. I therefore urge the leadership of Labour Unions to give us the benefit of doubt and suspend any planned strike action while we engage the executive”, Hon Abbas said.
The Speaker also said that in the course of the recess, Nigeria continued to face numerous challenges and presented with even greater opportunities and prospects.
” It is now our collective responsibility to address these issues with wisdom, integrity, and a commitment to the betterment of our society. The people have placed their trust in us, and it is our duty to honour that trust by working diligently towards their welfare. Thus, as we resume our legislative duties today, it is crucial that we prioritize the needs of our constituents. We must remain steadfast in our commitment to promoting good governance, ensuring social justice, and fostering economic growth. Our decisions should be guided by a deep understanding of the issues at hand and a genuine desire to improve the lives of those we represent”, he said.
Hon Abbas also said that in furtherance of the House efforts to mitigate the capacity gaps of the House, he has met with Development Partners and Donor Agencies providing interventions for capacity building for Members and staff of the House of Representatives.
He said that the outcome of the meeting was the imperative to set up a Programmes Coordinating Unit (PCU) in the Speaker’s Office.
” This unit is expected to harmonise and coordinate the capacity development drive of the House. In setting about this task, all interventions and technical support from Donor Agencies, Development Partners and CSOs will now be centralized and channelled through the Unit. The essence is to track, monitor and coordinate these interventions to ensure that they meet the right standards, protect the image of the House and promote national security. Henceforth, Committees, Staff, Development Partners, Donor Agencies and CSOs in the House of Representatives would be mandatorily required to route such interventions through this unit.
He reminded members of the need surmount the enormous challenges confronting Nigeria at this time.
” They are challenges that will engage our attention in the coming days and months. National Security remains precarious even in the face of numerous successes recorded by our gallant security personnel. Only a few days ago, the nation was rocked by the gruesome murder of a joint team of security personnel in Ehime Mbano of Imo State. A similar sad incident happened in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State when scores of soldiers were ambushed and gruesomely murdered by terrorists. Sadly, some female students of the Federal University, Gusau were abducted by terrorists while there were reports of travelers being kidnapped along the Opi-Enugu Road”, Abbas said.
The Speaker noted that the economic challenges facing Nigeria remain as daunting as they were before the recess.
“The country is challenged on several economic fronts: cost of living crisis occasioned by high cost of energy, cost of food is skyrocketing daily, lack of livable wages, the negative effects of the unpredictable and fluctuating foreign exchange rates, a disappearing middle class and a host of other issues. When people are hungry and despondent, what is needed is a leadership with a clear vision, a leadership that on daily basis, demonstrates its commitment and capacity to tackle the challenges at hand; a leadership that should be innovative in proffering short and long term solutions. That is what Nigerians need at this time and as Representatives of the people, we must rise up to the occasion”, he noted.
The Speaker said that while the Executive Arm of government is engaging the citizens and trying to work out strategies to tackle the hardship in Nigeria, “Our legislative actions must therefore be dictated by a clear robust vision aimed at supporting the Executive in restoring our citizens on the path of prosperity. We must deploy the necessary legislative instruments to create jobs, ensure payment of living wages in the civil service, pull Nigerians out of poverty, address the prevailing infrastructure deficit, rid the country of crippling insurgency; ensure the security of lives and property and affordable functional education so that no child is left behind”.
He however said that it has not been entirely woes and gloom for our nation as we have been presented with opportunities and prospects to turn the tide around.
” Only recently, His Excellency President Ahmed Tinubu recorded a huge diplomatic and economic breakthrough with the United Arab Emirates which would see the resumption of issuance of visa to Nigerians by the UAE and the return of Emirates Airlines to Nigerian skies. We equally recorded some major economic agreements in India just as we had a productive outing at the recently concluded 78 General Assembly of the United Nations”. Hon Abbas said.
He announced that in the coming days, the executive arm of government is expected to present a 2023 Supplementary Appropriation Bill as well as the 2024 Appropriation Bill to this Honourable House.
” It is expected that the time to consider these Bills will be short, but we must roll-up our sleeves and get to work immediately and ensure the speedy consideration of the Bills that will encapsulate the yearnings of the people. While we will maintain the tradition established by the 9th House in terms of speedy consideration of the appropriation bills, we must diligently consider the bills to ensure that they meet the needs of our constituents. We have to put in extra work hours to ensure that the budget is passed in good time to enable its implementation from the first day of the 2024. Our nation and indeed this 10th House of the People does not have the luxury of time in the face of profound national challenges. We must therefore do everything within our powers to champion causes towards addressing the yearnings of our people. On this score, our goals are clear, our determination unrivalled. We must key into the Legislative Agenda of this House as a roadmap towards navigating our numerous challenges. Our bills, motions, resolutions, actions and more should mirror the Legislative Agenda being a joint product between the House and citizens”. He said.
He advised members to approach this new session with a renewed sense of purpose and dedication as Nigerians look to leadership.
” And it is our duty to rise to the occasion. Together, let us work tirelessly towards building a better future for our people, guided by the principles of justice, equality, and progress. We have set legislative agenda which will act as the barometer to measure our legislative actions. It is time to walk the talk”, he added.
The Speaker immediately after the speech, swore in a new member Mr. Salisu Majigiri, of the People’s Democratic Party, Katsina state.
Dominica Nwabufo
