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READ President Buhari Take on NLC Demands of N30,000 Minimum Wage

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N30,000 NLC Minimum Wage - Ayuba Wabba Heroics

The NLC had asked President Muhammadu Buhari to submit the N30,000 NLC Minimum Wage implementation bill to the National Assembly for passage by December 31 last year or face a nationwide strike action.

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NLC Ayuba Wabba - On NLC Minimum Wage

NLC Ayuba Wabba – On NLC Minimum Wage

With the deadline unmet, the NLC President, Mr. Ayuba Wabba, had said the Tuesday strike had become imminent despite a federal government offer for a resolution meeting schedule for January 8.

Authoritative presidency sources, however, told NPBS NG Wednesday that the president is making efforts to resolve the NLC Minimum wage dispute, which threatens to further obstruct the nation’s fragile economy should the strike hold.

State governors under the auspices of Nigerian Governors Forum had objected to N30,000 NLC minimum wage as the baseline wage bill for the federation on the grounds that most of the states could not afford it.

Offering N22,500, the governors said anything more would send most of the states into insolvency. But labour disagreed, contending that N30,000 was a compromised figured, which if diligently pursued would be realisable.

Buhari, according to our sources, had intervened, asking the governors to reconsider their stand and find ways of acceding to the workers’ demand.

“The president met with the representatives of the governors and appealed to them to plug areas of waste as a way of securing the funds to meet the workers’ demand,” a source told us.

He said the governors had agreed to heed the advice of the president and had gone back to evaluate their finances, adding that what was needed was some more time for the governors to report progress to the president.

“Certainly, the governors need to come back to the president with their revised position before he could proceed to the National Assembly with an implementation bill,” another presidency source told our source.

Stating that time, though now a scarce commodity, was what was needed to resolve the logjam, he explained that even if the president was minded to proceed to the National Assembly with the bill as requested by labour, the federal legislators had been on Christmas break, adding that there was no way the NLC’s demand could have been met.

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“The National Assembly had been on break. And so, even if the president is to overrule the governors on this, there is no way the National Assembly can reconvene before the Friday deadline given by labour,” he said.

Wabba had called on the federal government wednesday to urgently transmit the bill on the new national minimum wage to the National Assembly for a speedy passage.

He said, “It is unfortunate that the federal government is yet to transmit to the National Assembly an executive bill for the enactment of N30,000 as the new national minimum wage.

“Government’s dilly-dallying on the issue has strained government-labour relations with a potential for a major national strike, which could just be days away.

“I want to appeal to the government to do the needful by urgently transmitting the bill on the new national minimum wage to the National Assembly.

“We also would like to use this same opportunity to urge workers to fully mobilise for a prolonged national strike and enforce their right.”

Explaining that the strike would become inevitable as the last option for labour, the NLC president called on all Nigerians and businesses to understand and support it.

He, however, assured workers that their labour, patience and diligence would not be in vain.
Wabba said the NLC leadership remains committed to giving all it takes to ensure workers get just and fair wages in a decent work environment appropriate to their well-being.

STILL ON AYUBA WABBA’S HEROICS ON NLC MINIMUM WAGE

He added that the NLC leadership is similarly committed to social protection for workers.
According to him, “The new year presents great opportunities for workers, pensioners, civil society allies and their friends and families to put their numbers to good use.

“This is by voting out, not on the basis of tribe or religion but purely policy, any candidate that cannot serve their interest.

“In the year that is ahead of us, the NLC remains unequivocally committed to the national and workers’ goals which include the campaign for industrialisation, against selective enforcement of “No Work, No Pay” policy of government, among others.”

The N30,000 new minimum wage, which was a compromise figure arrived at by the Minimum Wage Tripartite Committee comprised of the government (federal and states), organised private sector and the organised public sector was contained in the report forwarded to President Muhammadu Buhari. Labour had initially proposed N66, 500, while the federal government proposed N24,500 at the negotiation meeting before the N30,000 was adopted.

However, wednesday the federal government said it would meet with the union on Friday.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, said government had invited executives of the organised labour for a meeting at the Conference Hall of the ministry.

General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, said the labour had received letter from the labour ministry for a meeting on Friday.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has issued a notice to all its structures and organs to commence mobilisation for mass action against the federal government, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), and the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP).

This was contained in a statement signed by the association’s president, Danielson Akpan.
The ASUU commenced a nationwide strike on November 4 after the lecturers accused the federal government of not implementing previous agreements.

The association had earlier issued an ultimatum of two weeks to the federal government, ASUU and ASUP on December 23, to call off the strike or face confrontation.

Education

JAMB Registers 1.8 million Candidates, for 2022 UTME

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JAMB Registers 1.8 million Candidates, for 2022 UTME

Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, on Sunday said a total of 1,837,011 candidates were successfully captured in the registration for the 2022 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and Direct Entry (DE) programme

 

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An estimated revenue of a total of N8.6 billion was generated. Out of the lump sum, a total of 776 computer-based test centres that took part in the exercise will share an estimated amount of N1.3 billion at the rate of N700 per candidate registered by each of the centres.

 

The Board also pledged support for the CBT centre owners over the sudden increase in the prices of diesel and the erratic power supply suffered nationwide recently.

Read Also: JAMB Announces Date for 2022 UTME, DE Registration

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Education

National Association of Academic Technologists Embark on Strike

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National Association of Academic Technologists Embark on Strike

Author: Ramona Salim, Abuja

Members of the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) have been directed to embark on a two-week warning strike with effect from today, 21st March, 2022.

The association said, the strike is as a result of the failure of the federal government to implement the 2009 agreement. This was contained in a statement signed by the NAAT President, Ibeji Nwokoma.

The association has therefore directed its members to close all laboratories, workshops, studios and farms for as long as the warning strike last. YOU CAN FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK

According to NAAT this decision follows a virtual National Executive Council meeting where 97.8 per cent of its branches voted for the strike.

The association has accused the federal government of failing to abide by the memorandum of understanding it signed with its members.

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Education

Reps Urge States to Implement UBEC, Child’s Right Acts

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Reps Urge States to Implement UBEC, Child’s Right Acts

Author: Eunice Johnson, Abuja

The House of Representatives has urged the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory to implement the provisions of the Universal Basic Education Commission Act, 2004 and the Child’s Right Act, 2003.
The House urged the Minister of the FCT, Mohammed Bello, to ensure full compliance with the provisions of the UBEC Act and the Child’s Right Act in the territory, while urging the UBEC to liaise with state governments, which had adopted the Child’s Right and the UBEC Acts for the enforcement of the laws.
The motion, which was moved by a member of the House, Bamidele Salam, at the plenary on Thursday, was titled, ‘Need to reinforce the provisions of the compulsory, Free Universal Basic Education Act, 2004 in the Federal Capital Territory and other parts of the country’.

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Salam made reference to a report by the Federal Ministry of Education in 2021, which stated that the estimated number of out-of-school children in Nigeria was 10.1 million, while the United Nations Children’s Fund put the number at 13.2 million.
The lawmaker said the figure appeared to be on the increase as the ministry had stated that there had been an increase of more than three million in the figure from 2020.
“The House is worried about the report from UNICEF that Nigeria has the highest number of out-of-school children in sub-Saharan Africa and in the world,” he stated.
While citing Section 18 of the 1999 Constitution, Salam stated that Section 15 of the Child’s Right Act provided that every child had the right to free, compulsory and universal basic education, and it shall be the duty of the government in Nigeria to provide such education.
According to him, the section provides that every parent or guardian shall ensure that his or her child or ward attends and completes primary and junior secondary school education, while any parent who fails in this duty commits a punishable offence.
He noted that 27 out of the 36 states in Nigeria had adopted and domesticated the Child’s Right Act.
Salam also cited Section 2 of the UBEC Act, which provides that every government in Nigeria shall provide free, compulsory and basic education for every child of primary and junior secondary, and that every parent shall ensure that his or her child or ward attends and completes primary and junior secondary school education.
The lawmaker further stressed that Section 2(3) of the Act compelled stakeholders in education in a Local Government Area to enforce the provisions of the section, thus ensuring that every parent or person who had the care and custody of a child sent such child for primary and junior secondary school education.
Salam stated, “The House is concerned that the provisions of the UBEC Act and Child’s Rights Act are not being implemented, considering the statistics of the out-of-school children in Nigeria and the presence of children on the streets hawking, begging and undertaking all other activities during school hours in the Federal Capital Territory.
“The House is also concerned that the neglect of children puts their future and the future of Nigeria in jeopardy, as they are exposed to getting recruited into kidnapping and robbery gangs, drugs and other crimes.
“The House is worried that the number of out-of-school children in the country is on a rapid increase and no arrest of defaulting parents or guardians are being made.”

Read Also: Retired NIS officer, three others abducted in Abuja

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