Kwara State House of Assembly Speaker, Yakubu Danladi Salihu, on Tuesday met with labour leaders in the state following the ongoing industrial action over non-payment of the new national minimum wage.
Danladi-Salihu, together with the principal officers and members of the Assembly, appealed to the organized labour to call off the strike action.
He reiterated the commitment of the 9th Kwara legislature to welfare of the State’s workforce and particularly the implementation of the minimum wage.
“This government has so far been highly sensitive to the plights of the State’s workforce, the prompt payment of full monthly salaries of workers suffice to our respect and concern for the welfare of labour and we shall continue to uphold it,” Danladi-Salihu said.
He added that “schools are just resuming after months of closure as a result of COVID-19 pandemic and it will not be fair locking the children out again on the account of this strike action”.
While assuring the organized labour that Governor AbdulRazaq meant well for Kwarans, the lawmaker cautioned the organized labour not to allow politicians hijack their actions.
The Deputy Speaker, Hon. Adetiba Raphael Olarewaju in his submission implored the labour to embrace amicable resolution of the minimum wage issues, noting that the door of the 9th Assembly is always open to protesters and suggestions of the labour and indeed all residents and Kwarans alike for proactive resolutions to avoid this kind of fallout.
For his part, the Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Labour Congress in Kwara state, Comrade Murtala Saheed, said the lawmaker’s message would be delivered to the Congress.
Muritala, while appreciating the lawmakers for their concerns and audience, noted that the Assembly’s prompt intervention and interest in arbitrating over minimum wage issues in the State reflects the 9th Assembly’s friendly labour posture.
Meanwhile, Speaker Yakubu Danladi Salihu also met with #EndSARS protesters who took their protest to Kwara State House of Assembly complex.
While addressing the protesters, Danladi-Salihu assured that as a young person, he aligns with the position of the youths against police brutality, further noting that the Federal Government has displayed sensitivity to the people’s plight by swiftly disbanding SARS and a promise to reform the Nigerian Police Force.
