NLC replies Atiku: Don’t play politics with our minimum wage

By KEMI KASUMU

The statement credited to Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) asking the Organised Labour leaders not to trust President Muhammadu Buhari over his pronounced commitment to giving Nigerian workers a new national minimum wage has incurred the wrath of the leadership of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Wabba.

Wabba, who was asked to respond to the statement by PDP’s presidential candidate, Atiku, on TVC’s Fireworks programme on Friday, charged at the former Atiku who is former Vice President of Nigeria to desist from playing politics with minimum wage of Nigerian workers.

Atiku, who in apparent politicization of new minimum wage did a strange thing announcing N33,000 “new minimum wage” for staff of his privately owned companies, and his party, the PDP had attacked the Labour leaders for what they called their betrayal of Nigerian people for calling off their planned strike.

Atiku and his party have also been accused of having celebrated any move by any group of people; religious or ethnic who have decided to wage war against the current administration.

But distancing the Organised Labour from the Atiku and PDP’s attitude, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President warned them to stop it.

“We don’t want people to play politics with our minimum wage”, Wabba said in response to Fireworks anchor asking him to respond to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar asking him and his co-labour comrades not to trust President Muhammadu Buhari on new minimum wage.

He said the organized labour had never been given wage increase on a platter of gold by administrations of the past in Nigeria.

He said it had always been given through workers having to fight for their right.  Wabba pointed out that minimum is not a favour but rights of the workers.

Asked on the TVC’s Fireworks programme on Friday why he said it was either Buhari gave minimum wage to workers or lose their votes, if he said Atiku’s advice asking them not to trust Buhari on the wage matter was not being brought to table in their threat of shutting down the system, Wabba admitted that the labour leaders decided to use election period to fight for this right because, according to him, it is the better time to do so.

He agreed that what they did recently was truly holding the government by the jugular and explained that if that was what the anchor meant partisanship on the side of the labour, “Yes.  Everybody in Nigeria has the right to be partisan.  It is a democratic right.”

He however explained that all factors necessary were considered in arriving at the conclusion reached on the new minimum wage including the prevailing market prices and ability of government to pay.

On ability of states to pay where some still owe salaries, the NLC President said, “State that are owing salaries are not owing because they have no resources.  States that received lowest income pay salaries as at when due, for example, Jigawa.”

The problem with inability to pay workers salaries, Wabba said, does not have to do with lack of resources but failure to hold fast to accountability.

He noted that his union had at a time written to some state governors to explain how they spent the bailout money released to them by President Muhammadu Buhari and that up till present they failed to explain.