The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio had bemoaned the poor salaries of members of the National Assembly (NASS).
Akpabio stated this while contributing to the debate on a motion sponsored by Abdulrahman Kawu Suleiman, member of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) representing Kano South, on the need to avert an impending strike planned by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Monday.
According to him, the lawmakers’ salaries were not enough considering the volume of requests from various constituents represented in NASS.
Defending his motion, Kawu said, “The strike would cripple the country as movement would be severely curtailed as commercial transport operators would withdraw their services, while markets, schools and healthcare facilities would be forced to shut down.”
He added that the action could heat up the polity when it occurred, and the gains from the strike would be far below the costs to either of the parties in conflict.
“The strike threat by the NLC, if not averted, could plunge Nigeria into deeper economic woes, dislocate businesses, hunger, and frustration, more hardship that would lead to unquantified financial losses and reduce Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“NLC strike is also a bad reputation for the Nigerian economy and the educational system because it portrays the country in a bad light to the external world and discourages foreigners from coming to do business or study in Nigeria,” Kawu said.
The Senate after the debate mandated its leadership to interface between the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Federal Government in order to avert a strike.
[Vanguard]
