By Stephen Adeleye.
A political analyst, Dr Salisu Usman, has called on President Bola Tinubu to accede to the demands of the organised labour on minimum wage without further delay.
Usman said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Lokoja, at the sidelines of the activities to mark Tinubu’s one year anniversary in office.
Usman said that one of the effective ways to cushion the hardships being faced by Nigerians was to comply with the demands of the labour for a befitting minimum wage.
The political analyst urged the government to ensure quick realisation of an acceptable and sustainable living wage for Nigerian workers, to reduce the hardships occasioned by fuel subsidy removal.
“Once an acceptable and sustainable living wage is implemented, the people will be relieved of the current economic hardships and reduce poverty rate in the land.
“Tinubu should without further delay accede to the demands of the Organised labour and stop the front and back movement on the minimum wage negotiation, because it is long overdue.
“Doing that will be counted for him as part of his welfare package for Nigerians and the labour force. I believe Tinubu is a strategist and he has the capacity to do that,” Usman said.
The don emphasised the need to ensure the implementation of a living wage template for workers that would be acceptable and sustainable to reduce poverty.
He said that the fuel subsidy removal by Tinubu on the day of his inauguration, was a miscalculated action that had brought untold hardships to Nigerians.
“I consider that pronouncement as an avoidable step that should have been better managed to reduce hardships on Nigerians.
“The petroleum marketers took the advantage of the pronouncement to immediately adjust their pump price from around N180 to about N650 per liter that same day.
“The President should have carefully assembled his team with the best brains to study the situation and put some palliative measures in place that will cushion the effect of the subsidy removal before the pronouncement.
“If he had done that, I think the hardships Nigerians are facing today, would have been better managed,” he said
He emphasised the need for Tinubu’s presidency to address the trend in economic hardships so that Nigerians could begin to enjoy the real benefits of governance in his second year in office.
He also said that better strategies should have been deployed to manage the currency regularization issues in order to have a stable exchange rate.
He advised Tinubu to continue to put in place an institutional framework that would outlive him in office by emulating former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
He commended Tinubu for the Renewed Hope Housing, and Students Loan schemes and other related welfare packages that would make Nigerians fill the impact of governance.
He also advocated for tax holidays for average Nigerians as part of measures to cushion the adverse effects of the economic hardships due to fuel subsidy removal.
He advised Tinubu to fastrack the establishment of a robust transportation system across the 36 states of the federation at reduced rates for Nigerians.
He implored the President to address human capital development, equity, fairness and justice especially in the area of key appointment positions.
“I think some of the key appointments made by the President Tinubu so far are lopsided and not balanced which has a semblance for former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
“I urge the President to review those key appointments and ensure fairness to reflect the principles of the federal character in all his subsequent appointments,” he said.
Usman appealed to Nigerians to be patient with Tinubu, by giving him the benefit of doubt and have faith in the Renewed Hope agenda, assuring that his efforts would eventually yield the desired results.
“President Tinubu inherited these problems and were not caused by him, but I can assure you that he is doing his best to make the situation better for the benefits of the common man.
“His policies are good, they will outlive him and stand the test of time, but the implementation should be a gradual process; he should not be in haste to implement them.
“I believe the assessment of President Tinubu’s first year in office is ‘fair’, not good or bad, considering the daunting challenges he met on ground.
“We urge the people to be patient with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration because strategic structures are being put in place to better the well being of Nigerians,” Usman said.
(NAN)
