The Speaker of the House of Representatives Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, Ph.D, on Tuesday, restated the commitment of the legislature to addressing the socio-economic challenges facing Nigerians, stressing that it is a priority for the 10th House.
Speaker Abbas, in his opening address to welcome members back from a two-month annual recess of the National Assembly, expressed concerns over the hardships occasioned by economic instability in the country.
“In the course of our recess, our country has continued to face numerous challenges and presented with even greater opportunities and prospects. It is now our collective responsibility to address these issues with wisdom, integrity, and a commitment to the betterment of our society.
“The people have placed their trust in us, and it is our duty to honour that trust by working diligently towards their welfare. Thus, as we resume our legislative duties today, it is crucial that we prioritise the needs of our constituents. We must remain steadfast in our commitment to promoting good governance, ensuring social justice, and fostering economic growth.
“Our decisions should be guided by a deep understanding of the issues at hand and a genuine desire to improve the lives of those we represent,” he said.
The Speaker decried that in spite of the numerous successes recorded by the country’s gallant security personnel, national security remains precarious.
He added that the country is challenged on several economic fronts: cost of living crisis occasioned by high cost of energy, cost of food is skyrocketing daily, lack of livable wages, the negative effects of the unpredictable and fluctuating foreign exchange rates, a disappearing middle class and a host of other issues.
Speaker Abbas also noted that it was on account of these economic challenges that the organised labour, under the aegis of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), “seems to have lost patience with the painstaking effort of the government to plan and provide sustainable minimum wage and palliatives to citizens.”
He made reference to the plan by the organised labour to embark on a nationwide strike by midnight, following the expiration of a 21-day ultimatum issued to the government.
He stated: “As the peoples’ representatives, we feel and equally share in the pains of our people at these very difficult times. However, I would like to appeal to the Nigerian Labour Congress to consider the various actions being taken by the Federal Government to alleviate the current hardship faced by Nigerians.
“As promised earlier, this House remains committed to getting a survival wage to all Nigerian workers. The 10th House had assured Nigerians that we would be interfacing between the organised labour and the government to quickly work out a realistic new national minimum wage and such other palliatives to enable citizens cope with the economic impact of fuel subsidy removal, the downward fall of the naira to the dollar, skyrocketing cost of food and general high cost of living in the country.
“It is in our considered opinion that embarking on a nationwide strike at this point will only aggravate an already bad situation. I, therefore, urge the leadership of labour unions to give us the benefit of doubt and suspend any planned strike action while we engage the Executive.”
Speaker Abbas also said in the coming days, the Executive arm of the government was expected to present a 2023 Supplementary Appropriation Bill as well as the 2024 Appropriation Bill to the House. He, however, noted that the time to consider the money bills would be short, “but we must roll-up our sleeves and get to work immediately and ensure the speedy consideration of the bills that will encapsulate the yearnings of the people.”
The Speaker stated that the 10th House would maintain the tradition established by the 9th House in terms of speedy consideration of the appropriation bills, which returned the country to a January-December budget cycle. However, he stated that the lawmakers “must diligently consider the bills to ensure that they meet the needs of our constituents.” He stressed further that they must put in extra work hours to ensure that the budget is passed in good time to enable its implementation from the first day of 2024.
MAK
