Oscarline Onwuemenyi
09 June 2017, Sweetcrude, Abuja – President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Wabba, yesterday told world leaders at the ongoing International Labour Conference (ILC) that the situation of workers in Nigeria is exacerbating, lamenting that the high and increasing cost of living, rising number of dependents given the deepening unemployment situation in the country is getting out of hand.
Wabba, who spoke at the 106th session of ILC holding in Geneva, Switzerland also lamented the continuous migration of youths from Africa to other parts of the world, urging world leaders to intervene by assisting the continent in job creation drive through skills development.
According to a statement made available made available to our correspondent, the labour leader noted that the dire situation is behind the insistence by workers to review the national minimum wage upwardly from the current N18, 000.
The NLC president commended the federal government to restoring peace in communities in North-East as well as in the Niger Delta region.
Wabba said, “We wish to state that the situation of the working poor in Nigeria continues to be dire and exacerbating. This is because of the high and increasing cost of living, rising number of dependents given the deepening unemployment situation, low social protection coverage, delayed payment of salaries amongst others. It is for these reasons that we have demanded and achieved the composition of the tripartite national minimum wage committee to deliver an upward review.
“We also wish to state that migration as an unstoppable human phenomenon will require broad-based collaboration, especially as we seek to ensure shared migrations benefits. For Nigeria and Africa, our demographic trends suggests that we will require assistance on youth’s skills development and employment creations opportunities.”
On restoring peace to the North-East, he said: “We wish to salute the efforts of the Nigerian government and the Joint Multinational Task Force on the determined collaborative efforts that has led to improved security and the downgrading of the capabilities of Boko Haram to wreak havoc on our people.
“We equally salute the courage and compassion of the Nigerian government to negotiate the release of another 82 of the kidnapped Chibok girls. Nigerian government and security agencies will continue to enjoy our support as they work to ensure the release of all kidnapped persons and the total liberation of the ensure communities in North-East Nigeria
“We cherish the values and efficacy of dialogue. It is in this regard that we commend the continuous dialogue with our people in the Niger-delta by the government. This is yielding good results as sabotaging of petroleum facilities have substantially reduced and economic activities in the region picking up. Organised labour will continue to encourage and support the dialogue process as well as monitor the progress.”
