The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Anambra State Council has urged the state governor-elect, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, to give serious attention to addressing issues of implementation of new minimum wage for workers and other labour issues.
The State NLC Chairman, Comrade Jerry Nnubia made the call in a chat with BusinessDay correspondent on the expectation of workers from the incoming government.
Soludo, who contested on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, emerged winner of the 2021 Anambra Governorship Election, winning the PDP candidate, Valentine Ozigbo and the APC candidate, Senator Andy Uba, with a wide margin.
Nnubia who congratulated Soludo on his victory at the polls said the outcome is a reflection of the people’s collective will.
According to him, the election was keenly contested and the build-up to the election created a scary atmosphere of tension and fear but to the Glory of God, it turned out to be the most peaceful election in recent time.
He urged the governor-elect to show goodwill to the workers who voted for him by running an inclusive government, so as to carry all stakeholders including labour along in his administration.
“The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Anambra State Council and the entire workers of Anambra State, warmly and heartily congratulate Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo, the Governor-Elect of Anambra State in the just concluded November 6, 2021 Governorship election.
“It’s, therefore, my appeal to our Governor-Elect, Prof. Chukwuma to be magnanimous in victory, by running an all-inclusive government, so as to carry all stakeholders, including labour along in his administration,” he said.
Read also: FG plans mandatory training for labour leaders to curb incessant strikes
Nnubia, who noted that there are still outstanding labour issues, waiting for government attention, especially as regards the new minimum wage, tasked the incoming governor to work towards resolving such issues.
“We have outstanding issues of the implementation of the new minimum wage and its consequential adjustments, issues of arrears of gratuity of retired workers of the state that has not been settled since 2018 till date, issues of a non-functional contributory pension scheme, issues of a low-cost housing scheme for workers in the state.
“There is also the need for the incoming governor to fashion out programmes and policies for training and retraining of the state workforce to improve their productivity.
“I believe that these things are captured in his robust manifesto and the workers are expecting that he will immediately hit the ground running on assumption of office to tackle these issues,” Nnubia enthused.
Nnubia while commending all who participated in the election, advised Soludo to be magnanimous in victory, urging his co-contestants in the election to support his administration in the spirit of brotherhood and overall interest of peace, progress and development of Anambra state.
“I will not fail to commend and appreciate the electorates for coming out to vote for the candidates of their choice despite all odds.
“May I equally urge all the other candidates who took part in the contest to bury all hatchets and take advantage of the hands of fellowship already extended by the Governor-Elect during his acceptance speech to support and assist his administration in this onerous task, in the spirit of brotherhood and overall interest of peace, progress and development of our dear state.
“I must also commend INEC, the security agencies and all the stakeholders who worked tirelessly to achieve this huge success,” Nnubia said.
