Minimum wage: Cut salaries of govt officials by 50% — Nwanyanwu tells Tinubu
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National chairman of Zenith Labor Party (ZLP), Dan Nwanyanwu, has asked President Bola Tinubu to urgently reduce the cost of governance.
Nwanyanwu urged the president to sign an executive order to slash the earnings of elected officials and government appointees by 50% to 80%.
He tasked Tinubu to adopt measures similar to those implemented by former military President Ibrahim Babangida to alleviate the hardships faced by Nigerian workers.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Sunday, Nwanyanwu, noted the disparity between the lavish earnings of a few and the economic struggles of the masses.
The ZLP chairman said that those aspiring to serve as lawmakers should have their own means of transportation and accommodation in Abuja and not depend on the government.
He stressed that many Nigerians are willing to serve without such costly provisions.
Nwanyanwu stressed the urgency of addressing workers’ needs and reducing governmental expenses to foster a more equitable and sustainable economic environment in Nigeria.
Reflecting on historical precedents, he recalled that during Babangida’s tenure, the government provided 100 buses to the Nigerian labour force and allocated 100 million naira to key states.
“These initiatives, along with other schemes, were distributed across the federation to ease transportation difficulties and mitigate the impact of the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP),” he added.
Nwanyanwu also recalled the mass housing projects initiated by former President Shehu Shagari, which benefited millions of civil servants and workers nationwide.
According to him, workers’ needs extend beyond salary increases to include housing, education, health, and transportation. He therefore urged labour leaders to consider these aspects in their negotiations.
He also appealed to Tinubu to provide buses for workers at the local level, just as he stressed the need to avoid another strike by the organised labour.
Budget: FG releases N1.2tn for capital projects
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The Federal Government released a total sum of N1.23tn to 17 ministries for the implementation of capital projects aimed at advancing development and infrastructure initiatives as of September 30, 2023, findings by The PUNCH have shown.
An analysis of the Budget Implementation Report for the third quarter of 2023 released by the Budget Office revealed this on Sunday.
Capital projects, in the context of budgeting, typically refer to major investments in physical infrastructure or assets that are expected to provide long-term benefits. These projects usually involve the construction, acquisition, or renovation of tangible assets such as buildings, roads, bridges, dams, schools, hospitals, and other facilities.
The findings revealed that the amount disbursed was 75.4 per cent lower than the N5tn allocated for capital expenditure in the 2023 budget, resulting in a deficit of N3.8tn.
The report also showed that the ministries only utilised N962.87bn out of the cash backing of N1.23tn.
The report partly read, “The release of funds to MDAs for capital expenditure as at the third quarter of 2023 was done in tranches based on availability of resources and government priorities. Data from the OAGF on 2023 capital performance for MDAs as of 30th September 2023 showed that a total of N1.23tn was released to MDAs and cash-backed for 2023 capital projects and programmes.
“The sum of N351bn was released as the first Tranche, N331.92bn was the second Tranche and N208bn was the third Tranche. A total of N75.35bn was released as AlEs MDAs Budget and N261bn as AlEs Service Wide.”
ASUU: Strike not imminent if govt implements agreements within two weeks
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The Academic Staff Union of Universities has said that a strike is not imminent, if the Federal Government implements the agreements reached, in the next two weeks.
Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, President of ASUU said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday.
It would be recalled that ASUU had threatened to embark on strike over the non-implementation of agreements reached with the federal government.
The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman on June 26, invited the union for a meeting to deliberate on the lingering issues affecting universities and to avert the planned strike.
Osodeke said none of the agreements reached with the Federal Government had been implemented.
“At the meeting called by the Minister of Education, we agreed that after two weeks, we will meet to see the progress the government has made.
“We will also see what we will do next if the government fail to implement the agreements reached.
Minimum wage: I never said Tinubu has increased corps members’ allowance – DG
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The National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, said it has observed with dismay, the misrepresentation of facts on social media concerning the visit of Scheme Director General, Brigadier General YD Ahmed to Ogun State Orientation Camp in Sagamu, on Sunday.
The Scheme, according to a statement signed by Eddy Megwa Director, Information and Public Relations, clarified that General Ahmed, while addressing corps members, said it is expected that they would benefit from the minimum wage when it is approved.
The NYSC said its director did not say “the President has approved any increment in corps members’ allowance.”
Meanwhile, as part of his oversight functions during orientation periods, the Director General advised the corps members on different issues relating to patriotism, entrepreneurship, security consciousness, community development among other issues of youth development for leadership roles.
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