Idle Ajaokuta steel workers got N38.9 billion salaries in 10 years without producing one steel - Investigation reveals

By Ayodele Ifasakin 

The Federal Government has paid workers of the moribund Ajaokuta Steel Company the total sum of N38.9bn as salaries and allowances in 10 years, Saturday PUNCH reports.

Idle Ajaokuta steel workers got N38.9 billion salaries in 10 years without producing one steel - Investigation reveals 

This is despite the inability of the company to produce a single sheet of steel since its inception.

The Ajaokuta Integrated Steel Complex, conceived in 1979, was developed to establish a Metallurgical Process Plant alongside an Engineering Complex and various auxiliary facilities.

The complex is meant to generate important upstream and downstream industrial and economic activities that are critical to the diversification of the economy into an industrial one.

On its website, the company said it directly employed about 10,000 workers at the first phase of commissioning while the upstream and downstream industries that would evolve all over the nation would engage no fewer than 500,000 employees.

Ajaokuta Steel Plant, aptly known as the Bedrock of Nigeria’s industrialisation, is more than just a rolling mill—it’s an Integrated Iron and Steel Plant.

It boasts four distinct rolling mills: the Billet Mill, the Light Section Mill, the Wire Rod Mill, and the Medium Section and Structural Mill.

Just In! Council Of State Approves N27,000 Minimum Wage For Workers

AgegePulse Magazine

The National Council of State has approved N27, 000 as the new National Minimum Wage for workers in the country.

This was one of the decisions reached on Tuesday at the Council of State meeting which took place in Abuja.

The meeting was presided over by the President, Alhaji Muhammadu Buhari.
The Council of State consists of former rulers of the country and former Chief Justices of the Federation.

The organised Labour is pushing for a N30, 000 minimum wage. According to the organised Labour, they had agreement with the Buhari administration that the national minimum wage will be N30, 000.

The new pronouncement may again pitch the organised Labour with the government.

The Gazelle

BREAKING: No agreement yet on new minimum wage – Ngige

Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, on Wednesday, said the Federal Government and the organised labour have yet to reach an agreement on the new National Minimum Wage as being reported in the media.

He said the government was still consulting and negotiation was still ongoing.

Ngige said this in an interview with State House correspondents after a meeting of the Federal Executive Council presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The minister said there was no truth in the claim that those concerned have agreed to increase the minimum wage to N30,000.

He explained that while the organised labour agreed on N30,000, the organised private sector came down to N25,000, the Federal Government proposed N24,000 while state governors proposed N20,000.

He said in accordance with Convention 131 of the International Labour Organisation, the most important thing to consider in fixing the new minimum wage is the ability to pay.

Strike may delay September salaries, says Accountant-General

Ifeanyi Onuba, Abuja

The Accountant-General of the Federation, Alh Ahmed Idris, on Thursday called on the Nigerian Labour Congress to shelve it’s warning strike in order to allow the office complete the process of payment of salaries of civil servants.

Idris who said this in a statement issued in Abuja noted that the industrial action had led to a situation where workers who were directly involved in the release of funds for payment of salaries could no longer have access to their office.

He maintained that the payment of salaries could not be achieved under an atmosphere where critical stakeholders were not allowed access into their offices.

This, he noted, may make it difficult for the Federal Government to fulfil its promise of payment of salaries to workers before the end of the month.



He appealed to labour unions to shelve their strike in order to enable the office pay salaries to workers. Idris noted that while he had reported to duty on Thursday with members of staff of his office, they were denied access as the gates were shut.

Punch

Strike cripples govt, banks, schools’ activities in Lagos

Government offices, banks and public schools were on Thursday closed in Lagos State as the organised labour began its strike over delay by Federal Government in concluding negotiation on a new minimum wage.
The enforcement teams of the organised labour set out from Ikeja to the State Secretariat, Alausa, at 7:20 am and workers who arrived for work were being turned back.

The News Agency of Nigeria correspondents who went round the Lagos metropolis reported that the United Bank for Africa on Lagos-Ibadan express way and Wema Bank in Alimosho were closed.


NAN reports that the enforcement team of the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions led by its President, Oyinkan Olasanoye prevented staff from gaining access to Stanbic IBTC Bank, Ikeja branch.

The ASSBIFI team stormed Polaris Bank (former Skye Bank) on Awolowo Way, Ikeja, as its gate was locked by the union, while workers and customers were prevented from accessing the premises.

Olasanoye said the enforcement was in compliance with the directive of the Trade Union Congress, which ASSBIFI was affiliated to.

She had on Wednesday at a news conference told journalists that ASSBIFI had dispatched letters to all its members in banks across the country, to join the strike.

However, Access Bank in Dopemu and First Bank in Iyana-Ipaja opened for business with many customers carrying out various transactions.
Meanwhile, fuel stations were seen attending to customers, while major roads, including Iyana-Ipaja to Ikeja and Ikorodu Road, were busy with the usual heavy traffic.

It will be recalled that labour demanded N65,000 national minimum, up from the current N18,000.

The wage was subject to negotiation by the 30-man tripartite National Minimum Wage Committee set up by the government in November 2017.
NAN reports that the Minister of Labour, Sen. Chris Ngige, said the tripartite committee would reconvene on October 4, 2018.

Ngige said the meeting would enable the committee continue the negotiation, assuring that the current administration was labour-friendly and would pay the minimum wage once agreed upon.

(NAN)

Kogi LG workers to receive 54% of salary

Local Government workers in Kogi State have applauded the state government for its decision to increase their monthly percentage salary from 30 per cent to 54 per cent with effect from this month.


The state chapters of the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, Nigeria Union of Teachers and the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees gave the commendation in a statement in Lokoja on Sunday.
It said that the decision to raise the bar was commendable and urged the government to take cognizance of the percentages of salary yet to be paid.

The statement signed by Mr Onu Edoka, Mr Tade Adeyemi and Mr Thomas Ayodele, state Chairmen of MHWUN, NULGE and NUT respectively urged the government to continue this gesture until 100 per cent salary payment is regularised.

“Government should include in the payroll the names of all the staff and teachers that have been cleared but are to be captured on the payroll, while the case of the uncleared undergoing review should be resolved without further delay,“ the statement said.


The workers promised to reciprocate the government‘s gesture by continuous loyalty, support and dedication to duty.

NAN
Punch

We were not elected to only pay salaries, governors declare

• Resign if you can’t pay, workers tell govs

Olusola Fabiyi and Eniola Akinkuotu

Governors under the auspices of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, have said that they are not elected to only pay salaries of civil servants.

They argued they were also elected to provide good roads, electricity, education and other necessary amenities for the people.

They said there was no way they could perform magic if there were no funds to work with.

They therefore called for the examination of the national income in the last 14 years to enable them to agree on the contentious issue of minimum wage implementation.

Chairman of the NGF, who is also the Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, made their position known to journalists after the meeting of the governors in Abuja on Wednesday night.

One of our correspondents reports that the committee working on the minimum wage is almost concluding negotiations on the matter.

The Federal Government had set a September date to roll out a new minimum wage for workers.

The Nigeria Labour Congress is proposing a minimum wage of N65,000 for workers, but the governors are insisting on the gradual implementation of the new wage,  if eventually approved.

Yari said it was a pity that state governors had been limited to the payment of salaries alone in their respective states.

He said the lack of funds had hindered them from carrying out their responsibilities in other sectors such as health, electricity, education, roads, among others.

On minimum wage, he said, “We have a committee of six which represents us in discussions in the committee headed by the Minister of Labour, Dr Chris Ngige.

“The committee has yet to give us the final report. They have given us an interim report that at the Federal Government level, over 82 per cent is being spent on overheads which cannot move the country forward in terms of infrastructure development and development that we need now.

“So, on our own part, we are saying we are going to look at how our income is taken from our final account from 14 years ago so that we can come up and stay in the middle.”

Workers to know new minimum wage in August, says TUC

The President of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, Mr. Bobboi Kaigama, announced on Wednesday that a new amount agreed on by the Federal Government and labour to serve as Nigeria’s new minimum wage would be announced next month.

Bobboi, who made the disclosure in an interview with the labour correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos, said that the committee working on the minimum wage had almost concluded negotiations on the matter.

The Federal Government had set a September date to roll out a new minimum wage for workers, although the Minister of Labour, Dr Chris Ngige, was recently reported as “double-speaking’’ on the issue.

Civil servants in Nigeria are eagerly awaiting a wage increase after years of enduring a wage structure, described by analysts as one of the lowest in the world.

But public office holders in Africa’s most populous nation, including members of the bi-cameral parliament enjoy some of the biggest wages in the world, according to analysts.

Kaigama said that a tripartite committee meeting was holding on Wednesday in Abuja but refused to elaborate on issues being discussed at the meeting.

“The tripartite meeting is holding today but I do not want to pre-empt the outcome or the level we have reached in our discussions, otherwise there will be unnecessary anxiety.

”But by the end of August, I am assuring you that workers will know what the agreed new minimum wage will be, ” he said.

On November 22, 2017, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the appointment of a 30-member committee to work out a new minimum wage. He inaugurated the committee on November 27.

Buhari was, subsequently, hailed by workers for listening to their cries for a review of the current N18, 000 minimum wage put in place by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011.

The labour movement, including the Nigeria Labour Congress and the TUC had previously demanded N56, 000 as new minimum wage.

However, the President of the NLC, Mr Ayuba Wabba later submitted a memorandum to the wage committee, demanding N66, 500 “living wage’’.

Wabba said the living wage was necessary to restore confidence for workers, whom he said, had been devastated by years of exploitation and enduring slave wage.

The committee negotiating the new wage is made up of representatives of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, the TUC/NLC and the government, represented by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment.

(NAN) Punch

Today's Headlines

*AgegePulse Magazine* ...the mouthpiece of Agege/Orile Agege
*Headlines Today*[Wed-29-Nov-2017]*

Lagos Street Carnival: LASG creates alternative roads for motorists

Hon. Egunjobi inaugurates Agege LG Revenue Committee Targets 100% increase in IGR

Lagos Speaker, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, Hon. JS Babatunde to declare open Omotoye Estate/Coker Street in Orile Agege

Adebule advises students to keep abreast of global current affairs

LASG intensifies efforts to ensure food safety for Lagosians

Revealed: Agege born kids attend some of the 23 Most Expensive Secondary Schools In Nigeria


*Punch Newspaper*

Buhari okayed Malamis meeting with me Maina

Senators, Reps pick holes in 2018 budget proposal

How Abias N2.9bn was diverted into Kalu firms account EFCC

Life getting harder for Nigerians under Buhari, says Okogie

Ending BHaram war now depends on political class Buratai

Ezekwesili blames men for Nigerias woes

Security clearance delays perm secs inauguration

Kaduna fires 4,000 LG workers, PDP kicks

Lawmakers shun budget presentation by Okorocha

Entrepreneurship key to fighting poverty Ambode

LASG presents N254.6m to deceased workers families

Group seeks peaceful coexistence among religious bodies

UNILAG VC, dons, students pay tributes to Olunloyo

SFH asks rich pastors to fund HIV treatment

Tinubu accompanies Buhari to Abidjan for EU-AU summit

EU to spend N10bn to fight corruption in Nigeria

Agbakoba, Duke, Aremu, Utomi, others, float political group

Baba Sala is alive, says Son


*Vanguard Newspaper*
South East not excluded in appointment of Appeal Court Judges ' NJC

2018 Budget projections unrealistic ' senators

Community, herdsmen clash: Abia CP urges Myetti Allah to compile list of members

IGP directs Police Commissioners to undergo public relations training

WARDC tasks FG on gender-based violence

Ohanaeze crisis: Parent body takes over administration of Lagos Chapter

Osinbajo commissions cashew plant in Kwara

Polytechnic system endangered by FG, says ASUP

Education gets 26.4%, as Jigawa Gov budgets N134.17bn for 2018

Peddler hides hemp in pants; nabbed at Ogun Prison

Winner of Everyday Bonanza promises to convert his family to Glo

Maritime insecurity: Naval Chief tasks personnel

Name thieves in Buhari's govt, Fayose tells Maina

2018'll be a better year, Okowa assures Deltans

Foreigners taking over our jobs, borehole drillers lament

Plateau women seek end to 'domestic slavery

Fire guts Owerri hotel

Ekweremadu bags World's Outstanding citizen award


*The Nation Newspaper*
Workers threaten governors over Buhari's pay directive

Militants, vandals surrender arms in Ondo

Adamawa governor'won't follow Atiku

UI lecturers, NASU clash over govt's cash

Lawmakers pick holes in 2018 Budget

Buhari leaves for Abidjan with governors, Tinubu

Labour leaders hopeful of living wage for workers

Buratai to newly-promoted Majors-Gen: be more dedicated

NDE to train 76,300 unemployed youths in vocational skills

Firm to parley distributors

I slept with five men daily for four years in Tripoli

Bosch empowers artisans with specialized tool kits

Why Covenant University won't accept sale of handout ' Don

Import prohibition attracts $10b investment, says CBN

Fed Govt takes over Lagos Trade Fair Complex over N6b debt

Auto dealers lose N1.7b to customs, army raids

Creating entrepreneurs through technology incubation

Nigeria owes World Bank Group $7.8b


*Thisday Newspaper*
Saraki Accuses Anti-graft Agencies of Looting Recovered Funds, Property

I Will Remain in APC, Says Adamawa Gov Jubrilla

In New Rapprochement, Buhari, Tinubu Leave for EU-AU Summit

Senators Say 2018 Budget Projections Are Unrealistic

FG Launches Action Plan to Prevent Counter Terrorism

Buratai Charges Political Class, Intelligence Community over Boko Haram

FIRS Hits 79.35% of 2017 Collection Target in 10 Months, Says Fowler

Salaries: Governors Urge Buhari to Facilitate Payment of Paris Club Refund

IPI Nigeria Announces Readiness to Host World Press Congress

NNPC Targets 15% Downstream Market Share, Builds Three New Mega Stations

Oyos Crowded Governorship Race

Unnecessary Fuss over Atikus Exit from APC

AfDB Launches Youth Advisory Group