Director-general of the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS), Ilorin, Comrade Issa Aremu, has said the late President Muhammadu Buhari’s progressive labour-friendly policies and historic posthumous recognition of the late Chief Moshood Abiola as the winner of the June 12 1993, elections constituted his enduring legacies.
In a tribute, Aremu listed what he called an evidence-based bagful of Buhari’s labour-friendly records,” including “improved 2019 Minimum Wage Act from N18,000 to N30,000, public job retention, non-retrenchment of public service jobs and safeguards of private sector jobs despite the challenges of economic recessions and economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Others, according to Aremu include “the approved National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission 20 percent pay increase for police officers, 1000 jobs in each of the 774 local governments, commitment to lift 100m out of poverty in 10 years, mass direct and indirect jobs through state-led interventions championed by monetary (CBN) and fiscal, (Ministry of Finance) authorities in agriculture and industry, bail outs for states governors to meet salaries’ obligations and respect for social dialogue, not labour repression as tool for resolution of work-related disputes.”
Aremu noted that, “For the first time in 60 years after independence, former President Buhari accorded labour ministry legitimate recognition with two ministers, who under him in turn commendably intervened on what he called, ‘preventable and avoidable intractable’ labour disputes in universities, disputes between the government of Kaduna State under Mallam Nasir El Rufai and Nigeria labour Congress (NLC) among others.”
He praised President Bola Tinubu for consolidating on the progressive traditions of the APC-led Buhari- progressive labour policies in the last two years, with the Renewed Hope Agenda that has also commendably raised the minimum wage to an unprecedented N70,000 and the N758bn bond to settle long-standing pension liabilities in history, amongst others.
“Former President Buhari, just like President Bola Tinubu, rightly knew that labour creates wealth if properly trained on productivity and motivation,” Aremu remarked, adding that “remembering Buhari amounts to a celebration of progressive politics in this democratic dispensation.”
He, however, added that the high point of the tenure of Buhari was the “historic official proclamation of June 12th as Nigeria’s real democracy Day in 2019” adding that by “that singular courageous and just decision, President Buhari conclusively and commendably put a welcome closure to the tragedy of the annulment of 1993 popular election won by the late Chief Moshood Abiola.”
