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NLC/Kaduna Govt.Dispute: FG Receives Bipartite Committee Report
The Federal Government has received the interim report of the 10-man Bipartite Committee it constituted to resolve the dispute between the Kaduna State Government and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige made this known when he received the report from the committee on Wednesday in Abuja.
Ngige said the dispute could have been worse if not for the intervention of the Federal Government.
He said those who criticized them for not pre-empting the strike, spoke from a standpoint of ignorance, adding that somebody having a doctoral degree in any discipline did not give him the right to speak on labour matters.
He recalled that there had been no love lost between the Kaduna State Government and NLC since teachers were sacked in the state sometime in 2017.
“It is the same matter we are handling. It is crystallising. In that one, teachers without requisite qualification were teaching children. We said no. We agreed on what should be done and it was done.
”I advised labour to tell their members to get the required qualification to ensure quality education and it was done. In this case, it was redundancy,”he said.
Ngige described the submission of the report as a new dawn and a very important landmark in the history of the Ministry of Labour and Employment since he came to the ministry.
The minister said that the issue of Kaduna State Government and NLC took national attention.
He said it was a crisis that they needed to stop, otherwise it would conflagrate and fester into the other states of the North West, which are contiguous to Kaduna State.
“Just like President Buhari said, Kaduna is the home of retired generals, formers ministers, Police chiefs, retired permanent secretaries and who is who in old Northern Region, just like Enugu is for the old Eastern Region and Ibadan for the Western Region.
“The president said we should do everything to arrest the situation in Kaduna. It has not been easy for me and the permanent secretary.
”We were on our phones talking to the NLC and Kaduna State Government. We are happy that it has been brought under control. It could have been worse,”he said.
Ngige commended members of the committee for bringing up themselves to do the work.
He noted that it would have been made a bipartite committee of Kaduna State Government and NLC, but in this case, they decided to include the Permanent Secretary as the Chairman of the committee.
“I listened to the report presented by the Chairman. You kept to the original terms of reference you were given during the inauguration of the committee three weeks ago.
”That helps the work and the employees and their leaders seeing what has been done, you will know that there is no victimisation as alleged.
”You have shown transparency. Somebody cannot be working without the necessary certification. Somebody who is not a nurse and is found in a hospital must go.
“People who have disciplinary matters of fraud and misappropriation of funds, you have the right to disengage them under the omnibus of redundancy. If as government, you are spending all your money on personnel, it does not make sense.
”That money is for everybody in the state. It is for social, educational and capital infrastructure. I am satisfied,”he added.
The Chairman of the Committee, Mr Peter Tarfa while presenting the report, said they recommended that the disengaged staff of the Local Government, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and the Primary Health Care Board and all those not paid, should be paid appropriate benefits.
Tarfa, who is also the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employmen, said the committee also recommended that the Staff of Kaduna State Development Company who disengaged between 2017 and 2020 should be paid their appropriate benefits.
“There is also need for consultation between the government and labour in line with the prescription of the Labour Act and other relevant labour statutes.
“There is need for mutual respect and confidence building between the social partners, especially on issues of Collective Bargaining,”he said.
He said that the need for breach in communication gap between Kaduna State Government and Labour officials, which the committee observed was principally the reason for the strike.
He added that in terms of victimisation, the committee recommended that a letter should be issued, overriding all the queries answered by the nurses.
The NLC Deputy President and Co-Deputy Chairman of the Committee, Mr Najeem Yasin commended the Minister and the Chairman of the Committee, saying that they wished that all the recommendations would be implemented.
Similarly, the Secretary to Government, Kaduna State, Balarabe Lawal commended the minister for his intervention, reassuring that they came with the sole aim of finding a lasting peace in Kaduna State(NAN)
The Federal Capital Territory Civil Service Commission has begun the regularisation of staff appointments in the FCT Administration and the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA).
The Head of the Civilo Service, Dr Udo Atang, said at the commencement of the exercise in Abuja on Wednesday, that the move was to ensure accurate data of all staff.
Atang described the regularisation as a “critical” exercise, which forms the bedrock of the new FCT Civil Service Commission (CSC).
He pointed out that all the staff were holding letters of appointments from various agencies, departments, area councils, and the defunct Ministry of FCT and FCDA among others.
The holders of these letters, he said, have been raising issues of discrimination based on letters of appointment.
According to him, the exercise and the gazette by the commission that will come thereafter, will give all staff a sense of identity.
“The essence of this regularisation is to ensure that staff are properly documented.
“You will now have letters that will now qualify you as a bonafide staff of the FCT Civil Service Commission.”
The head of service, who appealed for full cooperation of the workers, directed that a list of all staff on course, study leave, leave of absence and other related permissions be compiled and submitted.
He added that the list should be compiled with grade level, designation and record of service, including approvals.
Atang commended the FCT Minister, Mr Nyesom Wike, for his doggedness and commitment in implementing the provisions of the FCT CSC Act, 2018.
Noting Wike’s support and love for the FCT workers, the head of service urged the workers to reciprocate the minister’s uncommon gesture, by being dedicated and committed to their respective duties.
Also speaking, the Chairman, FCT CSC, Mr Emeka Ezeh, stressed that part of the responsibilities of the commission was in the appointment, promotion and discipline of all FCTA and FCDA workers.
Ezeh also stressed the need for the workers to be more committed in the discharge of their responsibilities. (NAN)
From Jude Dangwam, Jos
The Catholic Women Organization of Nigeria (CWON) has organized a trauma healing session for survivors of the Jos Saint Academy School collapse alongside parents who lost their children in the unfortunate incident.The National President of the organization, Dame Mary Gonzum noted that the effort was part of their psychosocial support and counseling services for victims of the school building collapse as a follow-up to the assessment of the condition of the victims during their visit.
Gonzum speaking during a one day trauma session held at the Secretariat of the Justice Development and Peace/Caritas Commission (JDPC) of the Catholic Archdiocese located along Zaria Road in Jos the Plateau State capital said the trauma healing session was in continuation of their intervention to students who experienced the building collapsed.”Today, a trauma healing session was flagged off with a seminar on how to go about handling the trauma that victims of the Saint Academy School Busa Buji in Jos are passing through.”We will later select those that are so traumatic and need help to continue with the process of healing because it is not something that will end in a day or two but will need sometime.”The surviving students who experienced the building collapsed, parents of the students are all here because some parents are so traumatic, we have one other woman that lost two children”This trauma became necessary because when we went visiting in the hospitals, we observed that some of them are really traumatic. Like the other boy, his mother said up till today he kept telling his mother that he is seeing dead bodies, and anybody he sees he will say is his classmate.”Some of the affected parents while sharing their encounters after the incident said they hardly sleep in the day or night time. Some manage to sleep for two hours and they’re awake, and from the little lectures we received today it is clear that there is a problem,” She noted.The President calls on the government to ensure that those saddled with the responsibility of approving, inspecting and supervising structures are meant to do their job with all diligence to avert future happenings again.Some of the affected parents including; Hasana Suleman Sale who lost two of her children recalled with pains the unfortunate development that claimed the lives of her two children. She expressed gratitude for the trauma healing session which she said came as a means of consolation and strength for her to overcome the trauma she is passing through.
The Catholic Church in Nigeria has welcomed the newly-appointed Apostolic to Nigeria, Archbishop Michael Francis Crotty.
Crotty, an Irish, was appointed by the Vatican.
He will oversee the propagation of the gospel of Jesus Christ through the church in Nigeria.
The position, an ambassadorial status, advances cohesion in the body of Christ.
In his welcome message for Crotty on Tuesday, the President of Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), Archbishop Lucius Ugorji, said that the Church was glad to receive him.
The CBCN president, who is also the Archbishop of Owerri Catholic Archdiocese, said,” With joy and gratitude to God, I extend a hearty welcome to Archbishop Michael Francis Crotty on behalf of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, clergy, religious and lay faithful in Nigeria.
“We are thankful to His Holiness, Pope Francis, for appointing Archbishop Michael Francis Crotty as the Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria to build on the good works of his predecessor, Archbishop Antonio Filipazzi.
“His appointment is a testament to the strong spiritual bond between our countries,” he said.
He said that although Crotty was the first Apostolic Nuncio from Ireland to serve in Nigeria, many Irish missionaries had played significant roles in spreading the gospel in Nigeria.
“We appreciate Archbishop Crotty’s acceptance of serving in Nigeria and assure him of our full support and cooperation.
“We pray for a fruitful mission and a blessed tenure for our excellency,” he added. (NAN)
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