The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ogun State chapter has requested the state government to immediately remit the 11 months’ pension deductions from their salaries, lamenting that the government’s inability to pay the deductions is seriously affecting the workers.
Chairman of the union, Comrade Akeem Ambali, who addressed journalists immediately after their congress in Abeokuta, lamented that by the end of August, the government would have owed them a year’s salary deductions.
According to him, “Ogun State is worse off in terms of withholding the deductions taken from workers’ salaries. As at now, we have not resolved anything with the government on the issue.
“We are dismayed that the government is owing 11 months’ salary deduction, we know that we are facing economic challenges but the State is the fourth richest state in the federation and we urge the government to urgently remit the pension deductions to the appropriate Pension Fund Accounts.”
“We met with the State government, and at the meeting was reminded all that there is a standing agreement that the government should alternate the payment process. But we were quick to point out to the government that if they are following that which was not even agreed by labour in the first place by the end of this month it will be one year that these deductions have not been remitted.”
Ambali charged the government to also prioritise human capital development in the state and not just huge investments in infrastructural development, insisting that, “only a healthy man who is adequately paid can enjoy infrastructure.”
He also urged the government to do more in the area of rural development, stressing that rural dwellers are the poorest and the most marginalised people in the society.
The labour leader criticised that the government had been developing the urban areas at the expense of the rural areas and implored Governor Ibikunle Amosun to reverse the trend.
He said: “We want to bring to the notice of the government that we are the fourth richest state in the federation; in the last one year, Ogun State earned close to a whopping sum of N100 billion from May 29 2015 to June 2016. We appreciate the level of transformation that is going on around the state, but we should not be concerned only about infrastructural development, we should prioritise human capital development.
“On minimum wage, a committee was put in place at the national level of the NLC to look at the issue of the new minimum wage, the committee has only been inaugurated, we hope within a very short time they will come out with their recommendation.”
“In the last four years, Ogun state government concentrated majorly on urbanisation and transformation of urban centres at the expense of rural areas, so we believe that the next three years should be meant to also improve on rural lives.”
“Everywhere in the world the emphasis is on rural transformation, if want to reduce the level of pollution in the cities. If you want to develop the rural areas and you want to reduce the population density in the cities, you move towards rural integration and transformation and that is where the food is coming from.
“The people in the rural are the poorest set of people you can find in a country, so our call therefore is not misplaced and if all these are done we can then go back to urbanisation.
“We realised that the best security that is provided by the locals. When you look at other climes of the world, you realise that the security network are built around local security outfits who understand the terrain of the area; who can also monitor the influx of people both criminals and those that are serious minded people. You cannot say that the Nigeria Police and the Army can better secure the people without the cooporation and collaboration of the people the living in these localities.”
