The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has urged the Federal Government to urgently resolve health workers’ salary concerns to avert another industrial crisis in the nation’s health sector.

NLC President, Joe Ajaero, made the call in a letter dated Aug.

The letter was made available to newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja.

Ajaero expressed concern over delays in adjusting the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) and resolving outstanding demands of the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU).

He said JOHESU members had endured prolonged delays in spite of Memoranda of Understanding, terms of agreement and Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) reached with the government.

“Years after signing MoUs, terms of agreement and CBAs, in addition to promises and assurances from appropriate authorities, members of JOHESU have been ignored or abandoned,” Ajaero said.

The NLC president urged the government to immediately resume collective bargaining with JOHESU and direct the Presidential Committee on Salaries to address outstanding issues.

The NLC president urged the minister to ensure immediate resumption of collective bargaining negotiations and encourage the Presidential Committee on Salaries to address the outstanding issues.

He said the NLC was concerned about discriminatory practices and the human cost associated with prolonged industrial disputes in the health sector.

“It needs no telling that the consequences of a complete breakdown in negotiations are quite grave,” Ajaero said.

Ajaero said the appeal should not be interpreted as a threat, but warned that the NLC would fully support JOHESU if the union was compelled to take further action.

“We strongly urge that you do all that is within your power to ensure immediate resumption of the collective agreement negotiation,” he said.

He called on the government to demonstrate stronger commitment toward resolving the outstanding issues and preventing another industrial crisis in the health sector.

Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Ododo has felicitated former Secretary to the State Government, Prince Olusola Akanmode, on his 76th birthday anniversary, describing him as an exceptional statesman and distinguished son of Kogi.

Ododo celebrated Akanmode in a congratulatory message he personally signed in Lokoja on Tuesday.

The governor commended Akanmode for his remarkable contributions to public service, governance and national development.

According to him, Akanmode’s career reflected a life dedicated to the service of the people.

He said that the celebrant, who also served as Deputy Chief of Staff to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has exceptional intellect, administrative depth and sound judgment.

He said that Akanmode’s service in both state and federal capacities placed him at important moments in the political and administrative history of Kogi and Nigeria.

Beyond the offices he held, the governor said Akanmode had remained a respected elder and dependable source of counsel to those currently in leadership.

The governor added that Akanmode’s contribution to public service was not measured only by positions held, but also by the wisdom he continues to share and the leaders he continues to guide.

Ododo further praised Akanmode’s continued interest in the affairs of Kogi and his readiness to provide counsel whenever called upon, describing his wealth of experience as an enduring asset to the state.

He prayed to God to grant the celebrant many more years in good health, peace and fulfilment, and the strength to keep contributing to the development of Kogi and Nigeria.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has called for an urgent national stakeholders’ engagement to address the emerging trend of serving governors, senior public officials and political gladiators descending on states during off-cycle elections.

Jonathan made the call in a statement personally signed by him on Tuesday in Abuja, entitled: “Osun and the need to set new boundaries for political conduct in off-cycle elections.

He warned that the practice witnessed during recent governorship elections in Osun, Ekiti and Ondo States, if left unchecked, could create an undue pressure that could threaten Nigeria’s fragile democracy.

While commending the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies, political parties and the people of Osun for the peaceful conduct of the governorship election, Jonathan stressed that political mobilisation on Election Day must have boundaries.

He said that the outcome of the state election demonstrated that Nigeria still possessed the capacity to conduct elections in a manner that strengthened public confidence in the country’s democratic institutions.

“While we commend the electoral process itself, there are developments surrounding the election and, more importantly, an emerging trend in political conduct during off-cycle elections that raises concerns.

“The growing practice whereby serving governors, senior political office holders, party leaders and other influential government functionaries, accompanied by a large number of aides and heavy security details from outside a state, converge on states where elections are being conducted raises an issue that demands national attention.

“The conduct witnessed around the recent elections in Osun, Ekiti and Ondo states was, in my view, unusual. It is not a practice that should become normal in a democratic society,” he said.

The former president recalled that, as president, similar situations arose during the 2013 Anambra and 2014 Ekiti governorship elections where senior political leaders mobilised and descended on the states.

“Upon being briefed, I ordered party leaders and senior government officials to leave the states immediately,” he said.

Jonathan described the trend as unwholesome, saying if left unchecked, it could threaten Nigeria’s fragile democracy and have serious long-term implications for democratic stability.

“Political parties are entitled to campaigning, mobilising their supporters and deploying their legitimate party structures. That is an essential part of democracy.

“However, there is a point at which political mobilisation, particularly when it involves the overwhelming presence of serving governors, senior public officials and powerful political actors from across the country on Election Day, can create an atmosphere of apprehension, intimidation, bullying and undue pressure.

“We must ask ourselves whether the increasing deployment of political power and large-scale mobilisation by senior office holders on Election Day in states holding elections is consistent with the spirit of free, fair and peaceful democratic competition. This hardly happens in other democratic countries.

“We must not allow political competition to become a contest in which victory is perceived as something that must be achieved at all costs,” he said.

According to the former president, there is also the question of precedent.

“If the current trend becomes established, what happens when governors from opposing political parties begin to descend on every state holding a competitive election?

“What happens when each party seeks to match political power with political power, governmental influence with governmental influence, and mobilisation with counter-mobilisation?

“Such a development would not strengthen our democracy. It would deepen political tensions and could make elections increasingly resemble battles for political survival rather than peaceful contests for the mandate of the people,” he stated.

The former president said that he believed that the matter should not be treated as a partisan dispute concerning the Osun election, describing it as a broader national issue concerning the future of Nigeria’s electoral democracy.

“Those of us who have occupied public offices must recognise that our conduct carries a greater responsibility.

“The power and influence attached to public office should be used to strengthen democratic institutions, not to create apprehension among political opponents or citizens,” he said.

Jonathan called on the National Peace Committee to convene, as soon as practicable, a stakeholders’ engagement to provide a neutral and constructive platform for political leaders and other stakeholders to reflect on the emerging practices around elections and agree on standards that would protect Nigeria democracy and preserve peace.

He said that the engagement should bring together key stakeholders, including the leadership of registered political parties and INEC.

Other stakeholders, according to him, should include relevant security agencies, the leadership of National Assembly, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Nigeria Governors’ Forum; civil society organisations and the media, to interrogate what he described as the troubling trend.

“I believe that the National Peace Committee is particularly well placed to lead this conversation because of the confidence and moral authority it has built over the years in bringing political leaders together at moments of national tension.

“An early national conversation can help us establish appropriate boundaries and expectations for political conduct before practices that are unusual today become accepted as normal tomorrow,” the former president said.