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Politics Of Minimum Wage …Between Necessity, Possibility
Ayuba and Kaigama
Since about the end of April, a week to this year’s Workers Day, on May 1st, when the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) reminded the country of the need for an upward review of the minimum wage, several positions have been canvassed, most dwelling on the vagaries of necessity and possibility.
Very few however, disagree that the law says, minimum wage should be reviewed after every five years, which is why the NLC is not perturbed by side comments questioning the feasibility of such upward review, at these trying times.
The reservation of Nigerians who consider the timing unrealistic point to the poor state of the economy, inability of most states to even pay the N18,000 minimum wage, free fall of the price of crude oil, the country’s major source of revenue and the worthlessness of the Naira on account of poor foreign reserves.
Organised labour is proposing N56,000 new minimum wage which comparatively is one of the lowest even in Sub-Saharan Africa. Amusingly, as soon as one faction of labour called for N56,000, the other proposed N100,000 apparently to out-do themselves and end-up diminishing the importance of the demand.
The first hindrance to the actualisation of the needed review, is thus, a disunited labour movement which nearly 15 months after elections remains divided from the national to the States. With such division, it is difficult for organised labour to make sense of the issue without being penetrated by fifth columnists.
How can a divided labour negotiate a new minimum wage at a time when, politicians need all the resources they can muster to fulfil their electoral promises, when payment of workers still remains an issue?
Prior to the signing of the 2016 Federal Budget into law, governors under the aegis of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, (NGF) stormed the Aso Rock Villa to discuss the state of the States with President Muhammadu Buhari. Highpoint of the talks was the reality that most states could not pay salaries and are in arrears of unpaid workers wages. That was in spite of the fact that the Federal Government had given bail-out to some states.
Unfortunately, according to Federal Government sources, some states diverted such funds to more compelling needs, in their estimation, and let workers wallow in want and hunger. This means, even when all the resources are available, some states still would not consider workers salaries as priorities. To such states, the N18,000 minimum wage is a waste and which makes any review an impossibility.
As it is with the states, the Federal Government, according to sources borrowed to meet its N165billion monthly wage bill, an expenditure which the Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, last week described as unrealistic with the assurance that more ghost workers would be fished out of the system.
This means, the Federal Government from whom, the States hope to source funds for current salary challenges also needs help.
One of such challenges is how to fund the 2016 N6.6 trillion budget. With a Naira that is almost worthless on account of poor foreign reserves and volatile crude oil prices, infrastructure development, which is foreign exchange dependent, would be difficult.
Amidst the side comments of currency swap between China and Nigeria as a means of funding some Rail projects, amidst strong denials by the Federal Government, it is difficult to decide on what to believe. The fact remains however that with a budget benchmark of $38 per barrel, and US patronage of Nigeria’s gas export now zero, funding of the federal budget would be a huge challenge; a reason government officials have already advised Nigerians not to expect 100 per cent implementation.
These were why, rather than acede to the demands of states for review of the revenue allocation formula, the federal government queried what the States did with the bail-out funds given to them and promised that refunds would be made to states who were known to have invested on federal projects, particularly roads. How that would benefit all states and solve the problem of inability to pay salaries is another issue.
As it stands today, about 22 out of the 36 states of the federation cannot pay workers salaries as and when due. They also lack the potential to improve their internally generated revenue (IGP) profile, because they are used to hand-outs from the federal government, made possible by the oil boom.
Many Nigerians have at various times advised unviable states to consider merger while some others have canvassed a return to regional governments where the problems of the unviable states could be covered by the viable ones within the confederation. But a more realistic warning, years ago, was a return to agriculture and other mining activities, as a means of economic diversification.
Happily, there is no state of the federation that cannot survive on an export based resource, if properly harnessed. There is the abundance of minerals, cash crops, economic trees from which the groundnut pyramids of yester years were harnessed. But all those were abandoned in preference for hand-outs from the centre.
About three years ago, even when the United States stated clearly it would no longer have anything to do with Nigerian oil, when it became imperative that both the Federal Government and the states needed to source for alternatives to oil, the political class did little. Today funding democracy is a hard task just as running states seems impossible.
These are why many are asking, how realistic is the NLC demand? First, Nigeria is a federation which means states may demand the right to negotiate workers’ salaries based on available resources. That would, without any doubt, weaken the NLC’s powers to negotiate properly and achieve the required results. Another, as earlier pointed out, is the polarisation of the labour movement. There are today, two factions from the national down to nearly all the states.
All these notwithstanding, that the Nigerian worker deserves wage review is not in dispute. That the N18,000 old minimum wage is grossly unrealistic is a mathematical fact. That the N56,000 new minimum wage demanded by labour is realistic cannot be debated.
To be sure, if the political class had worked towards today, five years ago, the demand for a review would not be such a surprise and an issue. But Nigerians have a culture of creating controversy out of nothing, either to buy time or undermine the rights of others, in this case the ordinary worker.
With proper planning and management of resources, such salary review should not be such a big issue. After all funds expended on luxury automobiles for federal legislators, cost of avoidable foreign trips by the executive, huge salary bills of appointed and elected politicians and bloated contracts could be saved to implement the wage review.
Another is a deliberate policy of not importing what we can produce, save needed foreign reserves and improve the worth of the local currency. No economy that depends on imports for virtually everything can survive and that is the lot of the Nigerian economy and by extension the states.
To successfully effect wage review and give the worker a realistic salary to live on, states must first view the proposal as a top priority, a legal condition and an indispensable obligation. From this perspective, it will then be made clear, that any state unable to meet its obligations to the people would be merged.
This would without doubt create in the operators of the states, the required urgency to source for alternatives to the monthly hand-outs sourced from the centre.
It will surely make better meaning to states still thinking that all the calls for diversification of the economy is merely for the history books. That the moment for reckoning is now. Then and only then would the likelihood of a productive conversation over wage review be feasible.
Perhaps the most important imperative is the unification of the labour movement, to be able to speak with one voice and not from different platforms, that would be exploited by others on the negotiating table.
My Agony is that leadership of labour unions has become such gold mine that, like Nigerian general elections, the name of the game is now do or die. Defeat, is no longer an option as that would mean denial of the spoils of labour office.
Soye Wilson Jamabo
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DEPLOY YOUR CAPACITY, TECHNICAL KNOWHOW TO REVITALISE SONGHAI FARMS, FUBARA TELLS TASK FORCE
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has said that diversifying the economy of the State has become inevitable because of the need to solve the problem of food shortages while also providing jobs for the teeming unemployed youths.
These, he said, are the reasons why great care has been taken to critically look at the prospects of revitalising the Songhai Integrated Farms, which is located in Bunu Tai, in Tai Local Government Area of the State.
Governor Fubara insisted that if the problem associated with food shortages is tackled with good intent and purpose, about 40 to 50 percent of current problems of economic hardship plaguing the country and its people would have been solved.
Governor Fubara made the assertion while inaugurating the Chairman, Mr Biedima Oliver, and members of the task force saddled with the responsibility of supervising the revitalization of Songhai Integrated Farms by its partners: Vitalcrop Ventures Limited and Imagine Adama Limited, at Government House in Port Harcourt, yesterday.
Other members of the task force included, the Rivers State Commissioner for Agriculture, Engr Victor Kii; Commissioner for Finance, Barrister Emmanuel Frank-Fubara; Dr Ayebaesin Beredugo; and Mr Maurice Ogolo.
The Governor explained that it took him time to approve the constitution of the task force being inaugurated because of the ugly experience with the previous group that shown such interest.
Governor Fubara stated that a process was initiated and driven halfway into the handing over of Songhai Farms on concession to an interested partner who latter showed a total lack of the needed capacity to undertake such task.
He said, “As a matter of fact, if few of you could remember, we even conceded the place to an investor who came in after he had made his presentation, and we, believing that he has the capacity, we said okay to him, and we had already signed up.
“But something happened. He came back to tell us that he wanted us to give him a N5billion bank guarantee. We then asked him, why? If we have the N5billion, why do we need you to come and even revitalize Songhai Farms? We would have put that N5billion there ourselves. For that reason, we cancelled that arrangement.”
Governor Fubara said now that two separate companies have come together to indicate interest and given the assurance of having the needed capacity to drive the process, he is delighted to see them meeting that expectation.
Governor Fubara pointed to the expectation of the people who want to see the Songhai Farms back on stream on a sustainable basis.
That expectation, he insisted, is also what his administration wants to see actualised within its lifespan.
He noted, “We want to see food sufficiency, because we know when Songhai Farms comes on board, there will be food, which is one of the problems we are having in this country. If we are able to tackle the issue of food, 40 to 50 percent of our problem will be solved.”
Governor Fubara also stated that although he believes in the presentation made by the group and has taken their assurance to heart, but warned that he would not tolerate a repeat of what happened before.
The Governor said, “I hope your story will not be (end) halfway too. I hope you have the capacity and all the technical knowhow to handle it. It is not when we start now, after we had finished inaugurating the task force, you will come back to tell us that you need $2million. If we have $2million, we won’t need you. We will invest it by ourselves.”
Governor Fubara, however, praised the capacity of the Chairman of the task force, Biedima Oliver, saying that incidentally, he was one of the personnel that convinced the then administration to develop the Songhai Farms, and had worked with the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA) to manage the project.
He said, “He knows and understands the workings of Songhai, and now that we are making you the chairman of the task force, we want to believe that you will make that place come back to life.
“I don’t have any doubt in your capacity. A few things you’ve touched, you turned them to gold. Please, bring it back to what we used to see in Songhai. Bring it back with the help of your committee.”
Governor Fubara assured that his administration will remain committed to providing all the necessary support that they may require to make their assignment a success.
He added, “So, I hereby inaugurate you. Your task is very simple: Do everything within your powers and with our support to make sure that Songhai becomes operational to the benefit, not just the people of Tai, but to the entire Rivers State and Nigeria as a whole”.
In his acceptance speech, the Chairman of the Task Force to Supervise the Revitalization of Songhai Farms with Vitalcrop Ventures Limited and Imagine Adama Limited, Mr. Biedima Oliver, expressed appreciation to Governor Fubara for the opportunity and confidence reposed in them to revive Songhai Farms.
Mr. Oliver assured that they will deliver the expected goal on Songhai Farms, and doing so on time and on target so that the good people of Rivers State can eventually be happy and also benefit from the huge investment.
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has declared that all the policies and programmes of his administration are tailored towards the protection of interest of Rivers people, especially the youths.
This, he said, is borne out of the importance his administration attaches to youths’ development and empowerment as leaders of tomorrow.
Fubara, according to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Nelson Chukwudi, disclosed this when he received the youths of Emohua Local Government Area under the auspices of “Emohua Youths For SIM” on solidarity visit to Government House, Port Harcourt, last Friday.
He said that his administration has put in place modalities that will boost the livelihoods and well-being of Rivers citizens, which youths of Emohua will also benefit when they materialise.
The governor, who spoke through the Rivers State Head of Service, Dr. George Nwaeke, pointed out that the recently awarded Elele-Omudiaga-Egbeda-Ubimini-Ikiri-Omoku Road, the ongoing Emohua-Kalabari Road, reinstatement of illegally sacked workers of Emohua Local Government Area and the approval for electrification of the area, are part of deliberate measures to open up the area to make life conducive and more meaningful for the people.
According to him, “Everything about the governor is putting the interest of Rivers State first. He is looking at and taking action on those things that we need to do to restart the wheels of progress in Rivers State.
“There are many things the governor has planned and is already doing that will boost the life and welfare of every citizen of Rivers State, but most importantly the youths.
“Growing up, I learnt that Egbeda is one of the biggest communities in the whole of Ikwerre, and it’s predominantly an agrarian community. They have food in Egbeda, they have food in Ubimini, they have food in Omudiaga and other natural resources. The whole world is tilting to agriculture, and this is the way to go.
“The Elele-Umudioga-Egbeda-Ubimini-Omoku road, when completed, will open up the area for real development. Your food and everything you produce there will now have value, they will no longer be thrown away. In all these, you the youths are going to be the utmost beneficiaries.”
He added, “Same will be applicable to the Emohua-Kalabari Road which will also, trigger development in the area, and you will be the greatest beneficiaries. When the LGA is also electrified, you will be having 24 or 20 hours of electricity, and those things the youths can do with electricity, you can stay at home and create wealth for yourself and children.
“All the totality of what the governor is doing, when they are completed, or even as some are completed now, the youths are going to be utmost beneficiaries.”
While acknowledging that youths are the true leaders of tomorrow and any government that fails to carry them along in the scheme of things is doomed to fail, the governor assured them of his administration’s commitment to always address issues concerning youths and ensure that they are part of his government.
He commended the youths for toeing the path of truth by identifying with his administration, urging them to sustain the tempo and shun evil, as his government will ensure that the trend whereby politicians turn youths to beggars are over.
He said, “Youths are, indeed, the leaders of tomorrow. The time of youth is a very important time. It a time that your parents or whoever is your leader at that time have to make the greatest investment in you. And any Government that decides to only carry the elderly, chiefs aling and abandon the youths is bound to fail,” he asserted.
“But I am happy that Governor Fubara has concentrated his energy on everything that will benefit the society, especially the youths.
“And based on these, I want to thank you for recognising what is good and calling it good, for shunning what is evil, for saying the Governor is standing for you.
“Let me tell you, you are on the right direction. Let me tell you again, Rivers State is the bride of Nigeria. The whole Nigeria is looking at what will happen here. As they look here and see you standing on the path of truth, this is a very important step that you have taken to right all the wrongs of the past, to make Rivers State stand on the tripod of justice, peace and security. That is what we are going to gain through the governor, taking all the wise actions that he has already initiated.
“The projects the governor is embarking on are meant to prepare nets for the youths to fish and put food on their table, hence you should continue to follow him.
“The SIMplified Movement brought upon by the governor will ensure that Rivers youths stop the habit of going to bow down before politicians, pledging loyalty before they can eat.”
Earlier, spokesman for the Emohua Youths for SIM, Comrade Ovamale O. Ovamale, had said that the visit by youths from the 14 political wards in Emohua Local Government Area was to thank the governor for the award of the Elele-Omudiaga-Egbeda-Ubimini-Ikiri-Omoku road, the approval for electrification of the area and reinstatement of sacked workers of Emohua Local Government Council, of which the youths were mostly affected.
According to him, “Siminalayi Fubara of recent has given Emohua Local Government road that links Elele to Omoku, which comprises over four communities in the local government.”
“Emohua Local Government has also been in darkness for eight years. No community in the local government that has light. But, of recent, because of the passion and love the governor has for the people of Emohua, he has approved the electrification of the local government.
“Also, the illegal sack of Emohua Local Government workers, for which the youths were mostly affected and without the approval of the Local Government Service Commission, the governor, in his compassionate nature, has reinstated them, and that is why we said we must come and thank His Excellency”, he said.
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has assured that his administration will collaborate and continue to consult widely in delivering a liberated State experiencing enduring peace.
Fubara said, in doing so, he would not operate as a dictator but as a member of a team that has the best interest of the State at heart and determined to leave a lasting legacy that can be celebrated.
The governor spoke during the formal presentation of Certificate of Recognition and Staff of Office to the Amanyanabo of Okochiri Kingdom, King Ateke Michael Tom, as first class tradition ruler, at Government House in Port Harcourt, yesterday.
Fubara stated that, during the Sixth State Executive Council meeting, N80.8billion was approved with 50 percent contract value paid already as the Government awarded the construction of the Elele-Egbeda-Omoku Road.
He said the project will be funded from the savings from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to underscore his administration’s prudence without also borrowing to complete the project.
“We are at a crossroad in our State where we all need to stand for what is right. It happens once in a life time. So, for now, be one of those people that will be in the course to liberate and free our dear State.
“And I know strongly that having the support of a peace-loving Amanyanabo of Okochiri Kingdom, having the support of the wonderful Council of Chiefs, having the support of the great people of Rivers State, we will bring peace in our State. We will do those things that are right to develop our State.
“We will continue to consult. We will not act as dictators. We will act as people who know that one day, we will leave, and when we leave, the way we have acted will speak for us. We will not force people to talk good about us. Our legacy will be a signature for how we led”, the governor said.
Fubara explained that he acted within the ambit of the law to upgrade the traditional stool upon which King Ateke Tom sits in recognition of his efforts in promoting peace in Okrika, and indeed, the State, and urged him to continue to do justice to everyone.
In his speech, Commissioner for Chieftaincy and Community Affairs, Hon Charles Amadi, congratulated King Ateke Tom for being formally presented with the Certificate of Recognition and Staff of Office as first class traditional ruler.
Also speaking, former Transport Minister, Chief Abiye Sekibo, thanked the governor for fulfilling his promise of upgrading the traditional stool of Okochiri Kingdom, and pledged the support of Kirike Se people to his administration.