Wednesday 23 April 2014

SPN Call on Osun and Oyo State Governments to Pay LAUTECH Hospital Workers



·        We support the LAUTECH Hospital Workers’ Strike


 PRESS STATEMENT


The Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN), Osun State Chapter hereby calls on the state governments of Osun and Oyo States to immediate pay up all arrears of salaries of health workers at the Ladoke Akintola University Teaching (LAUTECH) Hospital. The failure of the two state governments to pay workers’ salaries in the hospital has led to a strike action by all workers of the hospital, since Monday 14 April 2014. This has consequently led to shutdown of the hospital, which is a major health facility in Osun State.


According to newspapers’ reports, patients in the hospital have been discharged prematurely to their families, while several others who cannot get their relations to take them out have been stranded. The workers were forced to embark on the strike after the governments, especially the Osun State government that has taken responsibility for the payment of workers’ salaries, refused all entreaties by workers’ unions to pay the three months’ salary arrears of workers

Consequently, we in the SPN, while we support the genuine demands of the health workers, place the blame of the strike at the doorstep of the government, especially Osun State government. The hospital, which is located in Osogbo, serves as a major health facility in the state, especially as most health institutions, including primary and secondary health institutions are in deplorable conditions. Therefore, a responsible government should have avoided the shutdown of this vital hospital in the first place. 


It is more worrisome that a state government that claims to be ‘progressive’ will expect workers to work for three months without salaries, while politicians in power are living extravagantly on the resources of the state. Of course, the state government has been feigning falling revenue as justification for denying workers their entitlements. However, the same excuse has not applied to political office holders. Moreover, it has not stopped government’s frivolous spending, for instance procurement of cars to leaders of social groups. But when workers raise the issue of their salaries, they are told the government is broke. In fact, the argument of being broke exposes the fake propaganda of the Osun State government, which has told the public that the government had saved N30 billion internally.


We call on workers and poor people in Osun State not to be hoodwinked by this fake excuse of reduction of revenue. Even before revenue reduction, working people hardly gain anything from the government. In fact, more attacks have been launched on them. For instance, since September 2013, casual workers employed by the government under the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES) have not been paid alongside those employed under government’s O’Ambulance programme. Since January this year, pensioners have only been paid one-month pension, while their gratuities have not been paid. In fact, thousands of pensioners have not been put on the payroll since last year. Those retirees who were forced to enroll in the exploitative Contributory Pension Scheme have not been paid a dime as government has refused to remit its share to the Pension Fund Administrators; yet N2, 500 was extorted from them under fraudulent guises.


All this shows the hypocrisy of the government when it comes to workers’ welfare. This current strike by health workers in LAUTECH Teaching Hospital is a further manifestation of this. We in the SPN call on labour movement in the state to take up this issue, and other labour issues. A situation where labour leaders find it convenient to shower encomiums on the governor when conditions of workers are worsening is at best ridiculous. We also call on health workers in LAUTECH teaching hospital to organize popular mass mobilization including rallies, protest marches, press campaign, etc, as the current government in Osun State, and its counterpart in Oyo State have developed thick skin to the suffering of workers. Only a mass movement of working people can force them to yield.



Signed


Alfred Adegoke                                                               Kola Ibrahim

State Chairman                                                              State Secretary

Tuesday 15 April 2014

BOMB EXPLOSIONS IN ABUJA: ANOTHER EVIDENCE OF FAILURE OF CAPITALIST GOVERNMENT



FOR DEMOCRATIC SELF-DEFENCE COMMITTEES

PRESS STATEMENT

We in the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) condemn in strongest terms the terrorist attack on the popular Nyanya motor park in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory on Monday April 14 which killed over 70 people. While no group has claimed responsibility we hold that the Nyanya bomb blast is another one in the long chain of heinous terrorist attacks on the working people in Nigeria.

We contend that the attack has further exposed the utter helplessness of the state-apparatus in the face of the behemoth of terrorist activities. This again justifies the need for the building of armed self-defence committees under democratic control of the working people in the communities, parks, schools and marketplaces to forestall and defeat terrorist attacks.

We hold that it is mass suffering and anger in the midst of enormous resources as a result of the failure of the successive capitalist governments to commit the huge wealth of society for the benefit of vast majority of the population that has created fertile and veritable grounds for recruitment into terrorist activities.

What the outpouring of agitation and protests against the attack urgently demands is an accurate leadership from the working people's organisations including the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress with the Joint Action Front (JAF) to spearhead an immediate mass movement nationwide against the growing terrorist activities and killings as well as the palpable incompetence and incapacitation of the government to rein in the terror. While the NLC has issued a press statement to condemn the attack, it must join forces with other pro-working people's political organisations to name a DAY OF NATIONAL MOURNING AND MASS PROTESTS. The National Day of mourning and mass protests against terror must also include the demands against the anti-poor policies like education attacks, mass unemployment and poverty wages.

The failure of the government in the face of this disastrous situation has raised the urgent need for a working people's political alternative that can proffer an alternative agenda. This more so that different fractions of these monstrous capitalist ruling elite organised in both PDP and APC are only preoccupied with how to turn the misfortune and loss of ordinary people to self-serving political advantages.

We of the SPN are prepared to work together with pro-working people's organisations in spearheading the building of the much -needed mass political movement to remove the rotten capitalist ruling elite from power. This should be linked with the task of socialist transformation which will open up a new society without poverty, terrorism and war. We urge the mass of workers, students, youth and the poor to join and build the SPN to achieve this task


Segun Sango
National Chairperson

Sunday 6 April 2014

SPN PAYS ONE MILLION NAIRA TO INEC

WE ARE WAITING FOR NECESSARY FORMS AND DOCUMENTS FROM INEC TO FILE THE APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION

The Socialist Party of Nigeria has successfully scaled another hurdle set on its path by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at the behest of the capitalist ruling elite, as the party on March 20 paid a sum of One Million Naira (N1, 000,000) to the Commission.

The INEC had in reply to our letter requesting requirements for party registration application said that we had to provide the evidence of payment of non-refundable fee of One Million Naira before they would furnish us the necessary documents and forms for processing our application. 

The said INEC reply to us with reference number INEC/EPM/SPN/563/Vol.1/4 and dated 27th January 2014 on the subject matter "RE:APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT FOR OUR POLITICAL ASSOCIATION CALLED SOCIALIST PARTY OF NIGERIA (SPN), reads in part: 

"In line with the provision of Section 78 (6) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), your association is to provide evidence of payment of the prescribed sum of One Million Naira (N1, 000,000.00) only being the non-refundable Administrative fee. On receipt of this, the commission will furnish you with the necessary documents and forms for processing your application".

No doubt this outrageous fee, which used to be N100, 000 until last year, is one of desperate measures meant to discourage a pro-masses party like ours from seeking registration let alone becoming a registered party.

We were however determined to surmount this obstacle by embarking on financial drive to raise the money from members and supporters as the party does not have moneybags or big financiers.

We have written the INEC since March 24, 2014 to formally notify the Commission of the payment and provide the evidence of payment, and requested the Commission to fulfill its part by furnishing us with all necessary documents and forms for processing our application. The letter with proof of payments was physically delivered and acknowledged at the INEC headquarters in Abuja on the same date.  We are now expecting the INEC to issue us the necessary documents and forms for processing the SPN application.

We commend all those who made it possible to raise the one million naira demanded by INEC as non-refundable administrative fees for processing the SPN registration application. We however call on those who have not contributed or redeemed their pledges to do so in order to enable us carry out other activities aimed at building the party in order to make necessary preparation towards 2015 general elections. 



Chinedu Bosah
National Secretary