NLC says no to VAT increase plan

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is objecting to any plan by government to increase the Value Added Tax (VAT).

The NLC declared Friday that any such move would further impoverish Nigerians.

It said that instead of increasing VAT and thereby placing more burden on the people, government  should go after all individual tax dodgers and  multinationals that are in the habit of not paying tax, but prefer to negotiate what they want to pay.

The NLC position was made by its President; Mr. Ayuba Wabba represented by the Head of Information, Comrade Benson Ukpah at the presentation of a book entitled “Developmental Unionism” in Abuja.

Wabba also lamented the current division within the rank of organised labour in the country saying it is weakening the bargaining power of the Nigerian worker to the advantage of employers and government.

Wabba said it was unfortunate that while capital is consolidating, leading to some transnational corporations far richer and far stronger than government, unions are fragmenting and doing the exact opposite.

He said: “If you look at the social partners, whereas the government has power and resources and employers have resources, unions do not have the material resources the two other social partners have except their labour as well as strength in their unity and this should not be discountenanced.”

He said the working class people in the country are more hit by the current economic challenges in the country because “our economy is going through challenges that are unprecedented.”

“In fact, not even the unfortunate civil war created this kind of situation for Nigerians. When we have challenges in the economy, they directly translate into the working and living conditions of workers.

“Thischallenges also directly affect our unions. When salaries and pensions are not regularly paid, they transmit poverty and suffering to our homes.

“When inflation rises without commensurate rise in pay, this reduces the capacity and purchasing power of the worker and reduces the quality of food and standard of living of the worker. The present economic challenges are directly felt more by workers than any other member of the Nigerian community.
“The other challenge we face in the world of work at the moment is that while  capital is consolidating, leading to a situation where we have transnational corporations far richer and far stronger than national government, unions are fragmenting and doing the exact opposite. So, this further weakens the bargaining power of unions because strength lies in unity.

“The other challenge we have is that while capital is able to move, Labour is not allowed to move. Each time there is a project of Foreign Direct Investment, the government welcomes them with open hands.

“Whenever some of our political leaders take our money and take it outside the country, nobody questions them. The billions of naira that has been taken out of this country was done with the aid of foreign collaborators.

He stressed the need for every Nigerian to join in fighting corruption.

“Corruption has eaten into the fabrics of this country and we must fight it and restore the integrity and honour of this country so that our children can stay back here and not be treated like dogs in South Africa.

Author of the book, Comrade David Kayode Ehindero called for a united labour movement in the country, while government and corporate organisations should entrench welfarist policies in their day to day activities.

Ehindero who is the Chairman of the Kwajalein state chapter Agricultural and Allied Employees Union of Nigeria said there was the need for organised labour to come together in the spirit of patriotism and value placement to achieve a realistic development and advancement.

Read More »

Obasanjo to Soyinka: You’re neither God nor oracle

Obasanjo

It is a reminiscence period for former President Olusegun Obasanjo as he turns 80 years on Monday.

Obasanjo in an interview with a group of journalists in Abeokuta, Ogun State, to mark the occasion fired a broadside at Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, to reignite their long running standoff.

He said although he holds no grudge against the playwright, Soyinka should not be seen as either God or an oracle.

The ex- President said there is hope for Nigeria despite the numerous socio-economic challenges facing the country and that while Nigeria is not exactly where it ought to be, things could have been worse that they are now.

He clarified his statement on an Igbo president in 2019 and parried a question on his relationship with his former deputy, Atiku Abubakar.l

Asked whether he had forgiven Soyinka after the writer openly kicked against Obasanjo’s aspiration to become United Nations Secretary General, the former President said: “You’re absolutely wrong. I don’t hold a grudge.

“Wole Soyinka is not God. And I don’t believe there’s any human being that is absolutely right. Wole Soyinka has what I believe he has. He’s a gifted person in his own way.

“But Wole Soyinka is not an oracle. I will not accept Wole Soyinka making cathedral statement on everything. I don’t believe that anybody could do that.

“So it’s not a question of forgiveness. When Wole Soyinka does what I believe is right, I will commend him. When he says what I believe is not right, Wole Soyinka is a populist and I don’t believe in populism.”

Obasanjo insisted that his assessment of President Muhammadu Buhari is that he has not done badly.

“President Buhari has not disappointed me. From what I know about him and what he has done, he has not disappointed me,” he said.

“In my book, I said he’s not strong on the economy. And he’s not. In fact, I said he’s not strong on foreign affairs. He’s improved somewhat on foreign affairs. But in the areas we know him, he has done his best. He has done his best in fighting insurgency. He has done his best in trying to fight corruption.”

Read More »

See why i soldier flogged a lagosbus driver

In full public glare, a soldier yesterday flogged a Lagbus driver for alleged rough driving on the Marina in Lagos.

The soldier accused the driver of endangering the lives of passengers in a commercial bus populary called Danfo in which he was riding.

He ordered the Danfo driver to chase the Lagbus bus vehicle and block it on top of the bridge on the Marina. The soldier snatched a cane from some motor unionists in the area, and jumped into the Lagbus vehicle.

He whipped the Lagbus driver, Idowu Kolawole, on the head repeatedly with the cane and dug his boots into the driver’s side.

Shocked passengers inside the BRT bus which was heading for Oshodi from Marina appealed to the soldier to stop beating the driver.

“Oga sorry, it is enough,” some of them said.

“Are the people in that Danfo bus not human beings?” the soldier retorted before storming off.

The passengers, however, said the Danfo driver was at fault.

They said the Danfo driver, who had stopped illegally to pick passengers, moved abruptly forcing the BRT bus coming behind him to swerve sharply to avoid hitting the bus and other vehicles.

A female passenger said: “It was the Danfo driver that was at fault.  If the BRT driver had not swerved, he would have hit the bus and some of the passengers would have been injured.  He did what he could to avert trouble yet he was punished.”

Kolawole, welts on the back and side of his neck, said: “The man just used his power on me.  If he had been inside the Lagbus vehicle and witnessed what the Danfo driver did, he would have jumped down to beat the driver.

“The driver did not watch the road before he moved so I was forced to swerve to avoid hitting the car on the fast lane on my left.  Because of him, the soldier beat me and even used his boot to kick my side. Unfortunately, I did not see his (the soldier’s) name well enough to identify him,” he said.

Passengers sympathised with Kolawole and consoled him as they disembarked from the bus at Oshodi.

Read More »

Ex-millitant leader orders his subjects to cease fire- see why

Ex-militant leader, Gen. Wilfred Moroco, today urged his subjects under the aegis of Niger Delta United Group to shun every form of violence against critical oil facilities within the region and wait for outcome of the negotiation with Presidential Amnesty Office.

Moro gave the order today during a chat with DAILY POST at the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ Warri Correspondents’ Chapel.

Moroco stated that the call has become necessary following an order by a Federal High Court in Warri for his group and the Presidential Amnesty Office to resolve their issues amicably.

Moroco said, ” Nobody should go into violence and blow up pipelines since the matter is in court. I am not in support of violence and blowing of pipelines.”

Moroco lamented that the leaders and subjects of his group who were disarmed since 2013 have not been registered by the Federal Government Presidential Office.

Moroco who stated that he is willing to settle the matter amicably in obedience to the federal high court’s order, said full payment of arrears as well as speedy documentation of its leaders and subjects in the Presidential Amnesty Phase 3 were part of the court order.

Moroco stated that rather than comply with the court’s directive, the Presidential Amnesty Office keeps claiming that its budget is not enough to cater for the arrears of its leaders and subjects.

Read More »