2016 May Day celebrated amidst socio-economic difficulties -Wabba

 This year`s  May Day was celebrated against the background of heightened socio-economic difficulties being faced by millions of Nigerian working people throughout the  country, the Nigeria Labour Congress  (NLC) president, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, has said. Wabba stated this in his address yesterday on the occasion of the 2016 May Day celebration held at  the Eagle […]

 This year`s  May Day was celebrated against the background of heightened socio-economic difficulties being faced by millions of Nigerian working people throughout the  country, the Nigeria Labour Congress  (NLC) president, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, has said.
Wabba stated this in his address yesterday on the occasion of the 2016 May Day celebration held at  the Eagle Square, Abuja.
The NLC president said this dire situation notwithstanding, this year’s May Day should be used to pay tribute to those martyrs who laid down their lives 130 years ago in the grounds of Haymarket Square in Chicago, USA, so that the working people of the world could today enjoy eight-hour work day, which was the main goal of their protest on that fateful May Day. 
He said: “While remembering the heroism of these comrades departed, we normally use May Day occasions to reflect on the state of workers in today’s environment, to outline key issues which are of concern to Nigerian workers in particular and Nigerians in general.”
Wabba said that this year’s May Day is also coinciding with the first anniversary of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration which provides an opportunity to review the state of the nation in the last one year.
He  said the organised labour  chose as theme of this year’s commemoration “The Working Class and the Quest for Socio-economic Revival’’,  to underscore the fact that socio-economic renewal is one of the greatest challenges confronting  the nation today.
The NLC president called on government at various levels to urgently articulate ways and strategies to turn around for the benefit of Nigerians, the socio-economic fortunes of the country.
“The situation of our country in the socio-economic sphere before the last general elections in March 2015 had been bedevilled by insecurity as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency; an economy in ruins as a result of years of maladministration  and corruption, at federal and state levels; drastic fall in the price of crude oil in the international market, coupled with continuing fall in the value of our national currency; a festering social crises symbolised by a huge unemployment crises and inability of a number of state governments to pay salaries and pensions, among other challenges,” he said.
Wabba also said Nigerians had voted the current APC government under President Muhammadu Buhari in the belief that his personal integrity as a man of virtue and experience would help to bring about a positive change in their lives, as promised in the party’s campaign slogan of “Change”.
 He restated the workers’ calls for President Buhari to combine the military success with a marshal plan for the reconstruction of the devastated infrastructure of the geo-political zone.