•Says electricity  tariff hike will not stand

By Wale Akinola

Factional Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Ayuba Wabba, in this interview, speaks on issues in the polity. Excerpts:

How do you describe the last one year of being in the saddle as the NLC President?

It has been tough and very challenging, but we thank God  that we have been able  to cope. We came in at a time of serious economic crisis when  workers interests are being threatened  by  irregular  salary payments, retrenchment and some other unfriendly things, but NLC has been able to  stabilize things.Our major goal is to protect and defend the interests of workers and that is what we have been doing, and we will continue to do so.

What is your reaction to the  state of the economy which has taken a downward  turn?

The  poor state of the economy has been a source of concern to everybody. The organized labour, the populace and other stakeholders are all worried, and everybody believes that something must be urgently done by government to improve the situation. What has made things worse is the slump in oil prices which has now dealt a serious blow to our economy.

For many people, what we should be discussing  is the way out of the quagmire. That is fine.  But while attempts are being made at proffering solution, we must not forget to ask ourselves the question, how did we get here? And could this situation have been avoided or less biting if the right things have been done?

To answer these questions, I strongly believe that the present situation would not have been serious like this if we had done the right things in the past.

For instance, there was a time crude oil was selling for about 140 dollars per barrel, and money was coming into the nation’s treasury. But when this money was coming in, our leaders should have known that they needed to save for the rainy days.

Life is not a bed of roses, it is full of ups and downs. Other countries that were wiser, they were saving during the period of boom in oil sales. Even during the biblical era, in the time of plenty, people were wise as they saved for the rainy day, and when famine came, the people didn’t suffer as they had gathered enough to take care of their needs.

Nigerians should blame the leadership that failed to do the right thing during the time of surplus.

Now, what do you think is the way out?

Wabba

There is no problem without a solution, and that is why I’m happy with the idea of economic summit that is being canvassed. I support the idea. Let all the stakeholders, including government and the organized labour meet and proffer solutions that will help to make naira strong again.

The economic summit should be convened as quickly as possible. Again, I believe that government should have a strong economic management team to advise from time to time on issues relating to the economy and welfare of Nigerians.

Government should  create more job opportunities. When industries are established, it promotes local production, and also boost exports. Exporting products will also help to boost the naira.

 The move to increase electricity tariff  by the National Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, has become a source of  concern to Nigerians. What is the NLC doing about the situation?

We will not allow any injustice against Nigerians to stay. We have expressed our opposition to the tariff increase which we believe is not only unfair but also amounts to an act of oppression.

It is a fraud to ask Nigerians to pay for darkness, and this was the reason we organized a nationwide protest against electricity distribution companies. We must be God-fearing in whatever we are doing. How can these people increase tariff when there has been no improvement in electricity supply? Many communities, industries and other electricity consumers are bitterly complaining against poor services by these distribution companies.

I want to assure Nigerians that we will not let them down. NLC leadership will not fold its hands and allow Nigerians to be cheated.

The Trade Union Congress, TUC, your counterpart labour centre, recently demanded  wage increase for workers, and it can be recalled that the NLC, under your leadership,  made a similar demand earlier this year. Do you think that call is realistic in view of the current economic crisis facing the nation?

Where there is a will, there will always be a way.

State governors can afford to pay any increment, what they need is to be prudent in their management of resources.

What takes away a large chunk of the allocation to state government is not civil servants wage bill.

Look at the number of political appointees by many of the state governors, you will discover that the high wages being paid these people, and other projects, most of which don’t have impact on   the lives of the people, are the real money guzzlers.

The lavish lifestyles of some of the governors also need to be checked.

Do you know that some of them keep lions, snakes, elephants as pets. Imagine what it takes to feed a lion in a month. It is far more than the N18,000 minimum wage which many of the governors are claiming they can’t afford to pay workers.

The take-home pay of an average Nigerian worker today is not sufficient to take care of his needs. To rub salt upon injury, many civil servants are being owed arrears of salaries running into months. My quarrel with our leaders is this, why is it that it is the Nigerian workers that must be made the sacrificial lambs?

The present leadership of the NLC is determined to correct these wrongs.

We were recently in Owerri, Imo State where we had to intervene when Governor Okorocha sacked 5,000 civil servants? Our intervention led to the reinstatement of the workers. Imagine what would have been the consequence if the NLC leadership had not intervened?

NLC leadership believes in dialogue, but where people fail to reason with us on issues that affect the well-being of workers, we have no other alternative than to act to show that not only can we bark, we can also bite. But like I said, we believe in constructive dialogue until we are pushed to the wall.

Some state governments are still owing workers despite receiving bail-out from the Federal Government. What is the NLC doing to make the governors pay the workers?

The NLC leadership has been moving round the country to hold dialogue with the governors on the need to pay the outstanding wages, and they are cooperating with us. But for those who  prove stubborn,  we set time limits, after which we will then mobilize against them.

What is the NLC doing about the plight of pensioners?

One of the legacies of the misrule of the preceding years is the incidence of irregular and non-payment of our retired civil servants and senior citizens. While salaries were being owed for up to nine months, the situation of the pensioners were worse as many states were in arrears of pension payment for 12 months or more.

This sorry situation is against the background of virtually all recent past and serving governors awarding themselves scandalous and end of tenure benefits while members of the legislature immorally award themselves outrageous retirement benefits running into hundreds of millions of naira for serving their states for a tenure of four years.

While the Contributory Pension Scheme, first introduced in 2004 and amended in July 2014, seeks to provide long term solution to our pension crisis, many of the states have not made efforts for their civil servants to join the scheme. As at April 30, 2015, only eight states had commenced remittances to contributions into the Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) of their workers, while another six states have commenced funding of their retirement benefit bond redemption fund accounts.

NLC can no longer afford to tolerate the situation and the congress has now decided to work with the State Councils  to engage state governments to pay up pension arrears of their retired employees, and to conclude arrangements to join the Contributory Pension Scheme as provided for in the Pensions Reform Act of 2014.

In the same vein, we shall mobilize for all employers to pay the new pensions contribution of 18 per cent of total pay which came into effect with the signing of the new Pension Act into law in July 2014.

How do you react to the situation in the country which has been described as alarming?

The unemployment crisis in the country is assuming a frightening dimension as there is hardly any household in the country where there is not at least two to three long-term unemployed persons several years, after they had completed their schooling. We will continue to dialogue with government and its various agencies on how the government of President Buhari intends to actualize its programme or promise of creating three million jobs annually.

We shall also canvass that government at all levels embark on labour intensive alternatives in their development strategies as a conscious way of utilizing available human resources.

Do you support the call for a reduction in the salary and other emoluments of National Assembly members?

It is shocking that our lawmakers at the national level will continue with the  ostentatious standards they have set for themselves.

For instance, the planned purchase of 496 exotic cars costing several billions of naira, after getting car allowances, is not only outrageous but a mark of the manifest insensitivity of our legislators in the period of severe famine in the land.

How can we, poor working people, millions of the unemployed and the poor masses, be expected to tighten our belts, while those supposedly elected by us to manage and provide succor for our collective well-being intend to live like emperors at a time that our economy is facing serious challenges?