Wants president to improve relations with S’East - Presidency okays membership of minimum wage c’ttee
Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja
Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha
Thursday said even though President Muhammadu Buhari is eminently
qualified to stand for reelection in 2019, he must go through the laid
down democratic process in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to
secure the ticket of the party.
Answering questions from State House
correspondents after visiting Buhari in the Presidential Villa, Abuja,
Okorocha who said though the constitution allows the president to seek
reelection, the APC does not allow imposition of candidates and believes
in the adherence to democratic processes.
Okorocha said he was at the State House
to hold discussions with the president on political issues affecting the
South-east as well as the welfare and politics of APC in the region,
with a view to convincing the people of the region to embrace the ruling
party.
According to him, it is very paramount
for the president to improve his relations with the South-east by
physically visiting the region, disclosing that the president was happy
with the suggestion and said he will visit Anambra State very soon.
He also said the APC was well placed in
the political sphere of the South-east with more people defecting to the
party from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the region.
He also said the meeting was meant to
make the president appreciate the growing popularity of the party in the
region, adding that politicians hardly defect to the PDP from APC in
the South-east but vice-versa.
Okorocha said he also discussed the
deplorable state of roads infrastructure in the region with the
president, stating that the South-east was in dire need of good roads
but expressed hope that the situation would improve in view of the
assurance by the federal government to tackle the challenge.
Also Thursday, the president approved
the membership of the proposed National Minimum Wage Committee, which
will be inaugurated in no distant time.
Making this disclosure after visiting
the president in the State House, the Minister of Labour and Employment,
Dr. Chris Nigige, who recalled the federal government’s promise to
address minimum wage issue, said the date for the inauguration of the
committee would be determined as soon as members of organised labour
return from the meeting of the Labour Governing Board in Geneva,
Switzerland.
“When we came to power in 2015, there
was a pledge to address the minimum wage, and by May 2016, we had an
increase in the price of petroleum products and we started discussions
with organised labour.
“One of the agreements was that the
issue (minimum wage) would be addressed. The last review expired last
year August and we are now in the process of empaneling a new national
minimum wage committee.
“I have cleared the appointments with
the president today and as soon as the labour leaders come back from the
Labour Governing Board meeting in Geneva, we will take a date with the
governors because it is a tripartite committee involving the federal and
states governments and the private sector comprising the Nigerian
Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Manufacturers Association of
Nigeria (MAN), National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry
Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
These are the arms that will be involved.
“The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC),
Trade Union Congress (TUC) and their affiliates have done their
nominations, so what we are now trying to fine tune is the date for
inauguration,” Ngige said.
Ngige, who said discussions with the
affected parties would decide whether the N56,000 minimum wage being
demanded by the workers is achievable, noted that various jobs had been
created by the agricultural policy of this government.
He disclosed that between five to seven million jobs had been created so far.
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