The leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, has appealed to the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress to accept the Federal Government’s offer of a minimum wage above N60,000.
In an Eid-el-Kabir message, Bamidele urged Nigerians to show patriotic spirit and support the government’s efforts to achieve fiscal and monetary stability.
He highlighted the administration’s achievements and assured that the government is committed to alleviating economic hardship and ensuring macroeconomic stability.
Bamidele emphasized the need for citizens to come together, regardless of their background, to support the government in its efforts to drive national rebirth.
The Senator’s appeal comes as the government and labour unions continue negotiations on the minimum wage.
His call for patriotic spirit and support underscores the need for collaboration to address the country’s economic challenges.
“The administration might have taken some measures affecting nearly every citizen.
“The measures were not meant to subject to hardship and penury. Rather they were taken in the best interest of our dear country. But with courage and tenacity in implementation, the measures will soon yield desired outcomes.”
On this note, Bamidele passionately appealed to the NLC and TUC to toe the path of dialogue and peace in the negotiation of a new minimum wage, which the president had promised to duly address without delay and within the capacity of the Federal Government, according to Independent.
Bamidele said the Federal Government “has conceded to N60,000, which obviously translates to a 100 percent increase. However, the organised labour turned down the 100 percent increase offer, the highest wage increase since the birth of the Fourth Republic.
“In the interest of public welfare, the Federal Government has agreed to make more concessions in this respect. As the Federal Government reveals its new offer, I plead with the organised labour to accept it in the national interest. The economy will not remain in this condition forever. Collectively, we are taking multi-pronged measures to reverse negative economic indicators.”
In the spirit of the season, the Leader further urged all Muslims to emulate love and good neighbourliness exemplified by Prophet Mohammed during his time and how he related very well with people of other faiths and nationalities.
He appealed that the ongoing reengineering initiatives of the Tinubu administration could only yield democratic dividends in an atmosphere devoid of insecurity, but where lives and property are protected.
He said: “Just to mention a few among ongoing projects like the 700 kilometres Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the establishment of N50 billion Pulako Initiative and annual recruitment of 30,000 new police personnel are key performance indicators of this government.
“Only recently, this government declared a state of emergency in agriculture and launched the National Agricultural Development Fund with N100 billion, in addition to the Dry Season Farming Initiative and the Green Imperative Programme to ensure food security across the land.
“All these and other components of the 8-point Renewed Hope Agenda require the patriotic support and prayers for their deliverables to multiply at the doorsteps of Nigerians in the remaining three years of the first term of this government.”
