Straight from the Headlines! What Everyone was Talking About This Week

Posted on Friday, May 4th, 2012 at 11:29 PM By Adeola Adeyemo
It’s been another whirlwind week. On Tuesday May 1st, 2012, Nigerian workers marked the annual Workers’ Day, a day set aside to delibrate on issues surrounding workers and their welfare. However, this year’s celebration was marred with the frequent Boko Haram attacks in northern states for the past few weeks that has left many dead and heightened the level of insecurity in the counrty.
Most of the complaints of workers was centered around insecurity. However, other issues such as the crippling health care system in Lagos state as a result of the ongoing Doctors’ strike was also brought to the fore.
Here’s a recap of some of the stories that made headlines this week.
***
Governor of Akwa Ibom state, Goodswill Akpabio has approved the payment of N18,900 minimum wage to workers in the state. He made the announcement in Uyo on Monday 30th April, 2012 when the state’s chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) paid him a solidarity visit in respect of workers day rally. The governor said that he had set up a committee, comprising labour and government officials to look into the issue as demanded by the NLC, adding that the outcome was the signing of the agreement. He stated that execution of projects by his administration would not be at the detriment of payment of salaries and emolument of workers. “Payment of salaries and emolument of worker remain a major project. Your entitlement on a monthly basis is a project for the government.”