Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State and his counterparts from Kogi, Niger and Kaduna states have restated the commitment of their governments to the welfare of workers in their respective states.
Alia promised to sustain the payment of outstanding arrears and emoluments of workers in the state. In his May Day message to Benue workers issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, in Makurdi, yesterday, Alia promised to continue to prioritise the welfare of workers in the state. He saluted them for their immense contributions towards the overall development of Benue.
The Catholic priest-turned-governor, who has begun payment of the arrears he inherited from his predecessor, also promised to attend to issues of promotions and allowances and ensure training and retraining of the workers in the state as a matter of priority.
Governor Ahmed Ododo of Kogi promised to improve on the existing welfare and security of life and property of Kogi workers to boost their efficiency and productivity.Ododo stated this, yesterday while addressing the state’s civil servants during the 2024 Workers’ Day in Lokoja.
According to him, the state government has recognised the importance of welfare; hence, the state’s workers were enrolled in a health insurance scheme to provide them with quality healthcare at an affordable cost.He promised to always dialogue with labour leaders to address workers’ needs.
Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Kogi, Gabriel Amari, disclosed that the present N30,000 minimum wage fell short of meeting the basic needs of workers in the prevailing market conditions of the country.
In Niger State, Governor Mohammed Bago directed the immediate implementation of the new wage as announced by President Bola Tinubu in commemoration of 2024 Workers’ Day.
The governor made the pronouncement in his keynote to mark the 2024 International Workers’ Day in Minna. Bago noted that his administration had been labour-friendly; hence, the need to implement the new wage to cushion the effect of the economic crisis in all the spheres of human endeavour across the state.
Represented by the Head of Service (HoS), Salihu Abubakar, the governor cautioned the workers against seeking short-term loans to avoid a financial crisis.
The state’s NLC Chairman, Idrees Lafene, explained that May 1 had been a day of commemoration and protest for workers’ rights.
He urged the state government to stop deductions from workers’ salaries for the state’s health insurance scheme. Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna has reportedly begun the implementation of the N500 million Revolving Loan Scheme for workers in the state.
Making the announcement, yesterday, at the Workers’ Day event in Kaduna, Sani stressed that other economic empowerment initiatives would soon be unveiled for workers in the state.
He asserted: “We are attracting investments to create job opportunities for our citizens. We are training and retraining workers to put them in a good position to contribute effectively to the economic development of our dear state.”
The governor commended Kaduna NLC led by Ayuba Suleiman for its commitment to social dialogue and willingness to engage in constructive negotiations.
