Jonathan to workers: Get ready for hard times, be realistic with your demands

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday urged Nigerians to brace up for the harsh economic realities in the country occasioned by the recent fall in the price of oil at the international market, saying that industrial relationship can only be more cordial, if democracy was nurtured to grow.

People hold a banner as they march to celebrate Labour Day during a rally in Lagos on May 1, 2015. Tens of thousands of people across the globe were hitting the streets on May 1 for mass rallies marking International Labour Day. AFP PHOTO

The President, represented by the Minister of labour, Sen. Joel Danlamilkenya, spoke while addressing workers during yesterday’s May Day celebrations.

Jonathan pointed out that the present harsh economic realities were so glaring that the workers cannot afford to ignore them in their engagements with government and advised them to be realistic with their demands.

“It is in this circumstance that the theme of this year’s Workers’ Day becomes more germane for positive engagement between government and labour. It is therefore proper to celebrate workers because of the critical role they play in the society. May Day confers us the opportunity to reflect on the inherent reality we are being confronted with due to scarce resources.

“The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC and Trade Union Congress, TUC, have a duty to play, charting a way forward for continued development and growth of Nigeria.’’

Jonathan then commended both the NLC and the TUC, for their various contributions in the sustenance of the nation’s development and democracy, describing them as the gateway to the nation development.

The workers, apart from their immense contributions, have in no small ways, made contributions towards the achievement of democracy through the enhancement of the processes and participation. Over these years, the workers have deepened their voice and government had attended to them. There is a new initiative being championed by the Ministry of Labour and Productivity aimed at broadening industrial and labour harmony and trade unionism. This development will no doubt engender the spirit of patriotism, national consciousness, occasioned by natural justice and reasoning.

“For us, the labour movement is central to national productivity and development, and as such have a critical role to play in chatting a way forward for continued development and productivity and in settling labour disputes.

“I have set a mechanism in place to further deepen government and labour relations. Let us use this opportunity to make a commitment for national development and rebirth. Attainment of national vision will not be possible without the commitment, work and participation of Nigerian workers. It is a joint effort. I look forward to seeing a strong and vibrant federation under the new leadership of labour. I urge them to ensure workers welfare and also, working constructively for the transformation of Nigeria.”

FCT allocates over 300 plots of land to workers – FCT Minister

In his valedictory address, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Sen. Bala Mohammed, said that in keeping with the obligation of the commitment FCT to workers, the authority had in the course of his tenure allocated over 300 plots of land to long service award and deserving officers in the FCT and had gone ahead to institutionalise the award as overall incentive to deserving officers who have served the nation meritoriously.

According to him, the gesture was also in acknowledgment of the commitment of the President Jonathan’s administration for workers welfare under the transformation agenda.

Ahmad Lawan not our candidate , We’re still consulting – North-East Senators

SENATORS from North East, yesterday, dissociated themselves from the purported endorsement of Senator Ahmad Lawan, APC, Yobe North, as their candidate for the position of Senate President in the 8th Senate, vowing that they will frustrate any attempt by any zone to foist a candidate on them.

The 10 out of the 13 senators elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, from the zone, at a press conference, in Abuja, disowned Senator Ahmad Lawan, insisting that he was never at any point endorsed by them as their consensus candidate as had reported by some media.But the 20 APC senators from the North West, at a caucus meeting held Thursday night at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Abuja, endorsed the candidature of Ahmad Lawan for the position.

The North East senators, who were led by Senator Danjuma Goje, APC, Gombe Central, at the briefing, vowed that they would not allow a candidate that is not their choice to be imposed on them. Goje, a former two-term governor of Gombe State, who read a prepared text containing their position, said senators from the zone will decide the senator to be supported for the position, after the zone was given such privilege by the leadership of the APC, disclosing that at the moment, they were still pleading with party leadership to officially zone the position to them.

Goje hinted that the North East senators had held a caucus meeting Thursday night at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, with Senator Lawan in attendance, where they had resolved that the caucus should go ito consultation with the party’s leadership to nominate a preferred candidate for the position.

“On Thursday night at the Kaduna room of Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, 12 out of the 13 APC Senators – elect from the North East, met and resolved as follows- (1), that North East APC senators’ caucus for the 8th Senate have been put on ground, ( ii) that the zone is appealing to the APC highest hierarchy to zone the highest position in the National Assembly, that is, the position of Senate President to the zone in view of its peculiar circumstances and (ii), that the caucus should be allowed in consultation with the party leadership to nominate whoever we want for the position.

“Therefore, in the light of the above resolutions, we call on all Nigerians to completely disregard any purported endorsement of any Senator from the North East by any zone for the position yet because any post zoned to us, must have our input.

‘’We don’t know anything about any endorsement of anybody from the North East being touted around through the pages of newspapers . We disassociate ourselves from any endorsements from other zones because the party has not zoned any position to us yet and we don’t want to jump the gun”, he said.

Senate Presidency: Northern Govs, Senators-elect meet in Kaduna today

AHEAD of the inauguration of the 8th Senate and as fight for the senate presidency heightens, strong indications emerged yesterday that governors- elect and senators- elect from the north will meet today in Kaduna to forge a common purpose for who becomes the next number three from the north.

Baring any last minute change, the governors – elect and Senators for the meeting will be drawn from the North East, North West and North East.

It was gathered that the arrow head of the meeting is a governor-elect from North West who is close friend of General Mohammadu Buhari, the president-elect.

The meeting, a source said was initially slated for Wednesday but was shifted for this weekend because of the just concluded induction course for newly elected Senators and members of House of Representatives in Abuja.

Speaking to a select team of Journalists in confidence, an aide to the governor- elect disclosed that the meeting became imperative in view of the various dimensions the contest has taken in the last five days.

It would be recalled that with the All Progressives Congress, APC forming the majority in the National Assembly and since the party zoned the National Assembly leadership positions two weeks ago, the race for the senate presidency has been enveloped in intrigues and power play.

The party zoned the senate presidency to the North central and speaker to the south west. But there were disagreements and their actions were deadlocked.

But forceful representations from the north east were said to have created a situation of uncertainty on the zoning just as the party recounted, saying no zoning formula has been agreed upon.

Senator Ahmad Lawan’s desire for the job was said to have been informed by the u-turn made by the APC even as other contestants, Senators Bukola Saraki and George Akume, all from the North central have remained strong in contention.

Speaking on the development, an APC chieftain who noted that the leadership of the party has subtly conceded to the request of a governor elect that the North should meet to decide on one of the contenders against the backdrop that it has been agreed that it should come from there, said, “I think the issue of the senate presidency is merely being over flogged, there is nothing to worry about the matter any more because I can assure you that the three zones from the region will meet in Kaduna either today or tomorrow to take a stand on the issue.

“We know that some interest have clashed but we need to tell ourselves the truth especially now that we are just about starting a new era on a new platform; these things are bound to happen but the position some of us have taken will be strongly canvassed at the meeting.

“It is not as if none of the contenders is qualified, they are all eminently qualified but we have to look at issues. Which zones produced the second highest votes for the party? Which zone has produced the senate president consistently? Can there be a situation whereby we have a vice president and senate president of the same ethnic stock? Who has more legislative experience among the three? We shall meet to canvass these arguments in favour of Senator Lawan.

According to him, insinuation in certain quarters that the APC national leader, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu was pushing for Lawan was misplaced. “That argument is misplaced; if Tinubu is backing him, does that disqualify him? It is only when Tinubu is backing a fellow Yoruba man for the senate presidency that we can complain, so the North will decide and go for Lawan, thank Allah the Northwest has kickstarted the move; we will seal it tomorrow(today).”

It was also gathered that outside Kwara’s three and Kogi’s two and Benue’s three senators, Lawan has the support of ten of the north central’s eighteen senators.

Jonathan shuns Workers’ Day rally

… President had emergency assignments – Sources

President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday stayed away from this year’s celebration of the International Workers’ Day popularly known as May Day organised jointly by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) at the Eagle Square, Abuja.

Security sources within the Presidency told our correspondent that the less than five-minute journey to the venue of the rally was cancelled because the President had emergency assignments to attend.

Although the nature of the emergency assignments was not disclosed, our correspondents gathered that the advance team was withdrawn from the venue because of the President’s absence from the rally.

The source dismissed claims that President Jonathan cancelled his participation in the event because he was afraid of being booed by workers saying, “the President has never been afraid of such thing. The workers have no reason to do that anyway.

“He had emergency engagements and so had to call off his labour event because it would take the whole day and if he attends, he would be unable to attend to other engagements.”