Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State has reassured civil servants that the state government will key into whatever resolutions are taken by the federal government on the national minimum wage.
Speaking at the 2024 International Workers Day celebration in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, the governor noted that civil servants have shown him massive support right from the March 28, 2023 governorship elections and therefore, it behoves him to reciprocate the gesture by implementing some of his promises made to them.
According to him: “We will continue to work with you to ensure that we support our workers. If we have succeeded at all, it is because we have the cooperation of all of the workers here, and we will continue to do our best to make you happy.
“On the minimum wage, we will wait on the Federal Government and then we will key into it and come to terms with the minimum wage for Akwa Ibom civil servants.”
The governor also encouraged them to go back to farm stressing that the Bulk Purchase Agency he established was a short-term solution.
He therefore declared the first and third Friday of every month as Farm Days to enable workers to go to farm inorder to boost food sufficiency.
“Bulk Purchase Agency is a short term solution to long term problem. The long term project is for everyone to go back to farm and to achieve that I am declaring the first and third Friday of every month as Farm Day in Akwa Ibom State to enable workers to go to farm starting from the governor, deputy and Exco members even the lawmakers, ” he said
Speaking earlier, the state chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Sunny James, said the theme of the May Day celebration, “People first” was very apt considering the economic challenges Nigerian workers are subjected to as a result of fuel subsidy removal, high exchange rate, electricity subsidy removal among others without the corresponding increase in workers’ salaries.
He called on the Federal Government to reverse some of the unfavourable policies that have resulted in hike in price of food stuffs, transportation and utility bills stressing: “NLC will join its voice with other stakeholders to tell government at all levels to review these policies suffocating our people.”
James, while commending governor Umo Eno for attending promptly to issues concerning workers, in the state, urged him to provide CNG buses for them to ease their transportation cost and institute a petroleum task force that would dismantle the cartel among major marketers diverting fuel meant for the State.
Also speaking, the chairman of the Trade Union Congress, TUC, Dominic Abang, urged the governor to tackle fraud in pension administration and institutionalise a pension framework by establishing a pensions board.
Abang also requested the establishment of a legal and administrative framework for the sustainability of the Bulk Purchase Agency recently created by the state government and the expansion of the social register to accommodate more persons for the distribution of free food items.