May Day: Akwa Ibom Govt Declares First, Third Fridays As Farming Days

 

• Akwa Ibom Govt Declares First, Third Fridays As Farming Days.

• Workers, including high-ranking officials, are mandated to engage in farming activities.

• Labour leaders voice concerns over economic hardships, calling for policy reconsideration and specific interventions from the government.

EKO HOT BLOG reports that Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State has pledged to align state civil service wages with forthcoming federal resolutions concerning the national minimum wage.

This online media platform reports that Governor Eno addressed civil servants during the 2024 International Workers’ Day celebration in Uyo.

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He expressed his gratitude for their support during the March 28, 2023, governorship elections and reiterated his commitment to fulfilling his promises to them.

“We will wait on the Federal Government and then we will key into it and come to terms with the minimum wage for Akwa Ibom civil servants,” Governor Eno stated.

This initiative mandates that all workers, including high-ranking officials from the governor to lawmakers, dedicate these days to farming activities.

“The Bulk Purchase Agency is a short-term solution to a long-term problem. The long-term project is for everyone to go back to farm,” he explained.

The celebration also provided a platform for labour leaders to voice their concerns.

Sunny James, the state chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), highlighted the theme of this year’s May Day, “People First,” calling it particularly relevant given the current economic hardships faced by workers due to policy changes like the removal of fuel and electricity subsidies.

James urged the federal government to reconsider these policies that have led to increased costs of living without a corresponding rise in wages.

Further, James appealed to Governor Eno to facilitate the provision of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses to help reduce transportation costs for workers and to establish a petroleum task force to tackle the issue of fuel diversion by major marketers in the state.

Similarly, Dominic Abang, the chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), requested the governor’s attention to fraud in pension administration and the institutionalization of a pensions board to ensure its sustainability.

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Abang also emphasized the need for a legal and administrative framework to support the newly created Bulk Purchase Agency and called for an expansion of the social register to allow more citizens access to free food distributions.

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