SPN Condemns the Planned Removal of Minimum Wage from Exclusive List

For 48-hour General Strike/Mass Protest Now!

Press Statement

The Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) condemns the planned removal of the minimum wage from the Exclusive List of the Constitution by the National Assembly. This action of National Assembly is meant to undermine the collective bargaining of workers.

We support and welcome the plan of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) to stage protest against this anti-worker decision.  We call on the labour centres not to reduce the planned protest to a one-off action. It should be used to announce and start mobilization for a 48-hour strike and mass protest across the country which should be the next steps of the struggle. 

However, these proposed actions must include the demand for the implementation of the existing national minimum wage by both state and federal governments as well as the private sector employers. This is the best way to inspire the interest of workers, who have benefited little or nothing from the current minimum wage which has come to effect since 2011 in the struggle against the planned scrapping of national minimum wage.

We note that many states have not fully implemented the national minimum wage. Unfortunately, NLC and TUC have either turned a blind eye to the plight of workers in those states or endorsed the action of governors which undermines the essence of national minimum wage. For instance, the President of NLC Abdul Wahed Omar was reported to have revealed during a visit to Ekiti State in March 2013 that the labour leadership had had agreement with states with proven evidence of inability to pay N18, 000 as minimum wage to negotiate with labour leaders in their domains on what to pay (This Day April 1, 2013).

The national minimum wage has not also been benefitted by many workers in the private sector a huge number of whom are casuals or contract staff. We therefore add that the planned struggle must also include demand against casualisation of workers which has also begun to rear its ugly head in the public sector.

We call on NLC and TUC not to be swayed by the purported assurance from the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives that the minimum wage has not been removed from the exclusive list to halt the planned protest. We hold that even to protest against non-implementation of the current national minimum wage and casualisation at workplaces, the action must go ahead. However, it is the only House of Representatives that have been reported to have denied the plan to remove the national minimum wage, the Senate which originally proposed the action has been silent.  This has further reinforced the need to go ahead with the planned meetings and protest.

By this latest action, the National Assembly has further confirmed the anti-poor and pro-rich character of the elements in government both at legislative and executive arms.   Besides, the non-implementation of the minimum wage in full by the state governments cutting across all political parties further show that all political parties in power at all levels of government are all united against the poor and working people. 

All this is one of the reasons we of the SPN have been calling on labour leadership to initiate the process for the formation and building of a mass working people party on socialist program. This is to ensure that the resources of the society are democratically and judiciously used for the benefit of the vast majority and genuine economic development. In the meantime, we call on workers and youths to join us in the struggle for the registration of SPN which has been formed to serve as a striking example of the working people political alternative in the absence of a mass party of working people.

Segun Sango

National Chairperson

MONUMENTAL CORRUPTION IN LAGOS LGAs

SPN DEMANDS PROSECUTION OF INDICTED OFFICIALS

Press Statement

 

The Lagos State Chapter of the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) condemns the monumental fraud taking place at the local councils in Lagos.  According to Premium Times, a government audit has indicted 8 Local Council of squandering at least N224 million of public funds, The Local Councils indicted by the 2012 Audit Report are Surulere, AgbadoOke-odo, Coker-Aguda, Egbe-Idumu, Eredo, Iba, Ikosi-Isheri, and Lagos Island East. The report accused the Council officials of financial recklessness.

The Audit Report reportedly also revealed that another set of eight Local Councils are jointly indebted to the tune of N788.3 million. These councils are Eti-Osa East, Lagos Mainland, Somolu, Ikoyi-Obalende, Iru-Victoria Island, Yaba, Agbado Oke-odo and Eti-Osa.

For instance, officials of Agbado Oke-Odo paid N11.5 million personal advance for staff since 2010 but failed to deduct the payments from the beneficiaries’ salaries. The officials also failed to remit statutory deductions from Contracts awarded to the tune N40.9 million.

It is instructive to stress that the local councils are not the only culprits at putting odious debt burden on the masses  the Lagos State Government has also massively plunged Lagos State to the tune of N160 billion. 

We hold that it is the anti-poor neo-liberal capitalist policy thrust, which promote self-serving agenda at the expense of development and interest of the working masses, together with bureaucratic running of government that provide fertile ground for these monumental frauds. This is one of the reasons we of the SPN always call for allocations, budgets and projects to be placed under a democratic control of elected representatives of workers and communities.  

This development has further confirmed our position that the creation of Local Development Council Areas (LCDAs) was meant and not for development of these areas but to accommodate political stooges and hangers-on of the ruling Action Congress, now APC,

We hold that the massive corruption in the Local Government Councils just like in the state and federal government largely contribute to the poor state of infrastructure or lack of them in all the communities across Lagos State and the country. Most of the roads in the communities in Lagos are in deplorable state, schools are dilapidated or ill-equipped, mass housing policy is non-existent, etc. Very little or nothing suggests the presence of these LGAs in terms of developmental projects while the public officials do not only receive outrageously jumbo salaries and allowances but also  continue to loot public funds with impunity.

We are dead sure that if a thorough probe is carried out on all the Local Government Area Councils and the Lagos Council Development Area Councils, more damning and scaring corrupt practices will be revealed. 

We demand a probe panel to be comprised of elected representatives of workers and communities with the mandate to investigate Local Government finances and purported projects. We call on the working people and youths to ensure that all officials found culpable must be prosecuted.

We hold that only a mass party of working people with socialist program as well as transparent and democratic management of human and natural resources planned to meet the needs of all and not the profit interest of a few is capable of sustainably moving the country forward economically, politically and socially.

MoshoodOshunfurewa

State Secretary

08094707558

MOLETE PETROL TANKER EXPLOSION:

Avoidable disaster for the working people!

Successive governments at all Levels 

Press Statement

The Oyo State Chapter of Socialist Party of Nigeria, (SPN) expresses its condolence to relatives and friends of people who lost their life and valuable properties during the fire incident occasioned by the explosion of an heavily loaded petrol tanker which reportedly fell at Molete area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital in the early hours of Saturday, 11^th October, 2014.

SPN maintains that the fact that most victims are poor people particularly the road side traders shows that street trading across the state is still predominant and on the rise. This is an indication of the failure of all the successive governments in the state including the current APC-led administration to improve the quality of life of the working people in the state.

It will be recalled that no fewer than 15 persons including a mother and two of her children were reported killed on Saturday morning during the petrol tanker explosion at Molete area in Ibadan while millions of properties which comprises of 45 shops, 13 vehicles, three houses, seven commercial motorcycles and three commercial tricycles were among the properties that were destroyed.

SPN strongly holds that this incident and its blood sucking consequences could have been avoided if successive government in the state as well as past and present federal govt. including the current APC-led administration had at different period planned and massively invested the huge resources at their disposal to improve the state of public infrastructure many of which are currently dysfunctional and in many cases non-existence.

The mere fact that tankers, most of which are in bad shapes, are used to transport petroleum products from one bad road to another indicates how unsafe and backward this adopted means of transportation has become. The government at the state and federal level must begin to connect oil pipes across the federation for the purpose of safely transporting petroleum products from one place to another while effective train system should be put in place to augment the well placed pipes as well as reconstructionof all bad roads.

The decay in the state owned fire service is legendary! Despite the vast water resources in the state, the sector often lack water to work with. There are several examples of situations where the vehicle could not work either owing to lack of petrol or mechanical fault. These are additions to continuous denial of workers in the sector of their democratic rights and incentives like living wage which usually undermines their zeal and morale for effective service delivery.  

Every successive government in the state has failed to build low cost public market places capable of accommodating the growing rate of traders in the state since 1983 when the late Chief Bola-led administration built sizable numbers of low cost markets which created a successful opportunity to relocate thousands of poor traders who were engaging in street trading at that time.

That no fewer than 15 roadside traders lost their lives in this unfortunate fire accident is an indication of the inadequacy of the so-called scout camp market reportedly built by the Senator Ajimobi-led administration in its bid to appease the public cries that greeted the demolition of shops and destruction of valuable goods belonging to poor traders under the pretense of urban renewal policy without prior compensation or provision of alternative.

Beyond calling for adequate compensation for victims of this avoidable fire incidents, SPN also demand that government should give priority to putting in place conducive environment  like building affordable and well equipped market stalls, mechanic villages etc., for artisans to enhance their  activities. SPN equally calls for the implementation of living wage for civil servants as well as massive creation of gainful employment opportunities with rights to living wage and union right for millions of teeming youths in the state who are without jobs. This is against the prevailing “empowerment schemes” like the Oyo Youth Employment Scheme (OYES) where youths are placed on irregular salary of meager N10, 000 per month aside imposition of N2, 000 tax while workers are denied the right to belong to a union of their choice.

   

Bamigboye Abiodun (Abbey Trotsky)

State Secretary, SPN Oyo State Chapter

08033914091