Resign, If You Can’t Pay Salary, Aremu Tells Govs

Former vice president, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr. Issa Aremu has
said any of the 36 state governors who cannot pay the minimum wage of N18,000.00 to workers, should resign from office.

Aremu, who is the General Secretary, National Union of Textile Garment Workers of Nigeria (NUTGWN), said such governor has no reason to be in the business of governance.

He spoke as the guest speaker at the 18th Joint Annual General Meeting (AGM) 2015 edition of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) where he presented a paper titled: “Government Patronage of Made-in-Nigeria Products, A Panacea for Industrial Growth and Development.”

He argued that one of the ways to judge performance of a sitting President and all state governors is their ability to resuscitate collapsed industries in the country.

“Any state government that cannot pay salary has no reason to be in business of governance, and, therefore, any governor that cannot pay the salary should resign,” Aremu said.

He noted that Nigeria was sitting on a keg of gun power if its alarming rate of unemployment was not nipped in the bud.

He said: “Nigeria is playing with fire because 24 per cent of its population is officially unemployed, and 50 per cent unofficially unemployed.

Some countries have a total of only 12 per cent unemployment crisis. Nigeria must begin to prevent this by reopening all closed factories to engage the teeming unemployed youths.

“Labour strongly supports the urgent need to rebuild Nigeria through targeted efficient massive productive spending. President Muhammadu Buhari must be weary of the emergency advisers who claim falsely that government has no business in business.

“Government not only has business in business, the art of governance itself is a business that must be done.

“Let me recommend Kaduna Governor, Nasir el Rufai to other state governors in this respect. I learnt that the moribund Kaduna furniture factory is almost back to produce thousands of school desks for public schools in Kaduna.

“The governor has also promised textile mills to produce school uniforms. And another organisation, Crittal Hope, is also back to life producing windows and needed metals to fix the classrooms, Adamu said.