Tinubu Announces ‘New’ Wage Increment On 63rd Independence Day

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has announced a provisional wage increment for civil servants as Nigeria marks its 63rd Independence Anniversary.

Tinubu announced in his nationwide broadcast delivered on Sunday morning, October 1, that for the next six months, the average low-grade worker would receive an additional N25,000 per month.

The Nigerian leader said his administration is introducing a provisional wage increment to enhance the federal minimum wage without causing undue inflation.

Tinubu expressed dismay with the saying of some citizens that “an independent Nigeria should never have come into existence.

“Some have said that our country would be torn apart. They are forever mistaken. Here, our nation stands, and here we shall remain.”

Tinubu, however, said that a significant milestone in the journey to a better Nigeria had been passed this year after Nigerians democratically elected a 7th consecutive civilian government.

“Nigeria has proven that commitment to democracy and the rule of law remains our guiding light.

“At my inauguration, I made important promises about how I would govern this great nation. Among those promises were pledges to reshape and modernize our economy and to secure the lives, liberty and property of the people.

“I said that bold reforms were necessary to place our nation on the path of prosperity and growth. On that occasion, I announced the end of the fuel subsidy. I am attuned to the hardships that have come. I have a heart that feels and eyes that see. I wish to explain to you why we must endure this trying moment.

“Those who sought to perpetuate the fuel subsidy and broken foreign exchange policies are people who would build their family mansion in the middle of a swamp.

“I am different. I am not a man to erect our national home on a foundation of mud. To endure, our home must be constructed on safe and pleasant ground,” Tinubu boasted.

According to him, reform may be painful, but it is what greatness and the future require.

“We now carry the costs of reaching a future in Nigeria where the abundance and fruits of the nation are fairly shared among all, not hoarded by a select and greedy few. A Nigeria where hunger, poverty and hardship are pushed into the shadows of an ever-fading past.

“There is no joy in seeing the people of this nation shoulder burdens that should have been shed years ago. I wish today’s difficulties did not exist. But we must endure if we are to reach the good side of our future,” the Nigerian leader said, assuring that his administration is doing all that it can to ease the load on the citizens.

No Agreement With Federal Government To Suspend Indefinite Strike – NLC

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) had on Thursday distanced itself from a report claiming that it has reached an agreement with the Federal Government to suspend the proposed indefinite strike.

Naija News had earlier reported that the organised labour comprising of the NLC and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) on Tuesday slated the strike to commence from October 3.

The unions announced that workers will proceed on indefinite strike over the government’s failure to provide palliatives to cushion the effect of the removal of subsidy on petrol.

There had been claims online that the Director of Press, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Olajide Oshundun, said there was an agreement between organized labour and the government to suspend the proposed strike.

Though Oshundun had distanced himself from the report, the NLC said there was no agreement with the Federal Government.

The union added that the Federal Government has not invited the union or given any date to meet with the union over the proposed strike.

NLC in a statement issued by its Head of Information and Public Affairs, Benson Upah, said, “The press statement issued by the Director of Press, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mr Olajide Oshundun on our proposed strike action and illegal occupation of the secretariat of the National Union of Road Transport Workers has been brought to our attention. We note some inconsistencies.

“Accordingly, we find it necessary to make clarifications. Firstly, we do not have any agreement with the government to suspend the planned strike action. Neither do we have any date for a meeting with the government that may lead to the suspension of the proposed strike.

“While we do not intend to demean or minimise the office of the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment, this matter is beyond the Ministry. This should have been obvious to them during our most recent meeting.

“Secondly, while we appreciate the role played by the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment, Barrister Simon Lalong in securing the release of the executives of the National Union of Road Transport Workers from unlawful/illegal police detention, we take exception to the Ministry describing these executives as factional leaders.

“They were lawfully elected into office. We still find it necessary to advise the police and those elements behind their travails to desist from this despicable and shameful conduct. They are advised to retrace their steps.

“If democracy is to be of meaning to us, then we should resist the urge or temptation for impunity. Enough is enough.”