As next year’s general elections draw near, politicians have been urged to eschew politics of bitterness and campaign of calumny at all times.
A statement issued by the publicity secretary of a socio-cultural group, the Third-Estate, Yushau Abdulhameed Agaka, said its president, Dr. Yusuf Lawal, made the call at Annual Dinner of the forum in Ilorin Emirate of Kwara state.
He pointed out that “given the level of acrimony, distrust, violence and insensitivity that characteristically dominate the political scene in election year in the country, there is the justifiable fear that the 2015 election may not be different from the past ones.”
He said: “The common interests we share as a people far outweigh any political consideration that drives us apart. We must not allow our relationship to be defined by political differences. In the bid to seek elective offices, national interest must remain paramount and should supersede all other forms of personal interests. The collective and long-term interest of our people should therefore take precedence over narrow and short term political considerations.”
The statement added that also speaking as the Guest Speaker, the Vice President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Isa Aremu, demanded an upward review of the national minimum wage.
He said: “To appreciate human resource, we must motivate the labour which constitutes the great resource. We must ensure workers are paid well and on time. It should be noted that delay of salary is the same as wage theft.
“The national minimum wage is due for a review next year. The 2010 National Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage headed by Justice SMA Belgore recommended that to avoid ad-hoc approach, the minimum wage is supposed to be reviewed every five years. It is due this year! Time to review this is NOW!”
He regretted that despite the quantitative strength of Nigeria in human resources, in both policy and governance discourse, the country has almost redefined resources as oil and gas in Nigeria and mineral resources. We have increasingly relegated human resources to the margin in the hierarchy of critical success factors for development.
“The implication is that these countries have left Nigeria far behind in terms of productivity, income generation and general economic development,” and advised that the challenge lies in re-invention of the human resources.