The President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Comrade Lucky Emonefe, has appealed to the Federal Government and organised labour to approach the negotiation on the new national minimum wage with an open mind to reach an amicable resolution.
He, however, called on the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) to see reasons to suspend the ongoing strike in view of its debilitating effect on the poor masses.
Emonefe, in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, said it was unarguable that the present minimum wage requires an urgent need for a review, while also calling on the Federal Government and labour unions to act with reciprocity while advancing the course of a new minimum wage for Nigerian workers.
He went further to state that in achieving an egalitarian Nigeria, all stakeholders must act with mutual objectivity.
“While pressing home our demands as unions, there’s a need to consider the consequences of our actions. We must not solve problems by creating more problems.
“The shutdown of activities vis-à-vis power, financial institutions, schools, and government parastatals leaves a more negative impact on the downtrodden.
“As a sister union, we advocate for dialogue as a panacea for achieving demands. To ease the suffering of the masses, we call on Labour to go back to the negotiation table to press her demands while allowing members to resume work.
“With the speed given to the passage of the new National Anthem, we also call on the National Assembly and Federal Executive Council to treat the demands of Nigerian workers in the same light as patriotism, considering the present economic reality in Nigeria.
“The commander-in-chief, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has always listened to Nigerian students, and we shall continue to take advantage of this to advocate for a better minimum wage for Nigerian workers,” the NANS President said.
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