The Presidential Support Committee (PSC) has pleaded with Organised Labour to put the interest of the country first by shelving its proposed nationwide industrial action.
It noted that the planned strike “cannot be the best option for the country at a time that President Muhammadu Buhari is doing his best to wriggle the country out of the economic, social and political morass it had been enmeshed in due to bad governance in the past.”
The call was contained in a statement issued by its director of communication and strategic planning, Malam Gidado Ibrahim.
According to the statement, Nigeria cannot afford to face such industrial action.
PSC also urged Labour leaders to “consider the constructive economic policies and reforms the Buhari administration is putting in place,” stressing that personal interest should becloud collective effort towards national economic growth.
He said, “We are aware that President Muhammadu Buhari is not resting on his oars to ensure absolute implementation of the minimum wage by the federal government because he started it in the first place. We are all witnesses to how the president told state governors categorically that they should ensure the new minimum wage is implemented.
“It was President Buhari who initiated the very of ensuring workers are paid their salaries. He walked his talk by giving bailout funds to state government and urged the governors to ensure that the nation’s workers get the new minimum wage as soon as possible. The president promised to immediately put in place the necessary machinery that would address what open areas in Nigeria’s salary structure.
“It was for this reason that he transmitted an Executive Bill to the National Assembly for passage within the shortest possible time. He has not been distracted but remained focused in pursuing growth in every sector of the country. He has demonstrated that he has the willpower to implement the new minimum wage and we are very certain that he will do it.”
The PSC gave the assurance that the Buhari administration “can never be like past administrations that had the capacity to pay, but lacked the willpower to do so.”
