16th June, 2024
The Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele on Sunday urged Nigerians to demonstrate more patriotic spirit and keep hope alive amid diverse strategic measures the federal government had been taking to guarantee fiscal and monetary stability.
Bamidele, representing Ekiti Central in the Senate, also pleaded with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) to accept whatever the federal government offered them above N60,000 as the new minimum wage.
He made the call in an Eid-el-Kabir message released by his Directorate of Media and Public Affairs on Saturday, highlighting some achievements of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
While felicitating all Muslim faithful nationwide, Bamidele noted that Nigerians, regardless of religion and tribes, should team up with and rally support for the Tinubu administration to safely steer the ship of the nation into a successful end.
Bamidele further emphasised that no nation could travel the journey of national rebirth alone without the unwavering support of its citizens not minding their political, cultural and social backgrounds and orientations.
He assured that the current administration would leave no stone unturned in alleviating the economic hardship most Nigerians “are currently grappling with and ensure stability in our macroeconomic environment.
“The administration might have taken some measures affecting nearly every citizen. The measures were meant to subject to hardship and penury. Rather they were taken in the best interest of our dear country. But with courage and tenacity in implementation, the measures will soon yield desired outcomes.”
On this note, Bamidele passionately appealed to the NLC and TUC to toe the path of dialogue and peace in the negotiation of a new minimum wage, which the President had promised to duly address without delay and within the capacity of the federal government.
Bamidele said the federal government “has conceded to N60,000, which obviously translates to a 100 percent increase. However, the organised labour turned down the 100 percent increase offer, the highest wage increase since the birth of the Fourth Republic.
“In the interest of public welfare, the federal government has agreed to make more concessions in this respect. As the federal government reveals its new offer, I plead with the organised labour to accept it in the national interest. The economy will not remain in this condition forever. Collectively, we are taking multi-pronged measures to reverse negative economic indicators.”
In the spirit of the season, Bamidele further urged all Muslims to emulate love and good neighbourliness exemplified by Prophet Mohammed during his time and how he related very well with people of other faiths and nationalities.
He appealed that the ongoing reengineering initiatives of the Tinubu administration could only yield democratic dividends in an atmosphere devoid of insecurity, but where lives and property are protected.
He said: “Just to mention a few among ongoing projects like the 700 kilometres Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the establishment of N50 Billion Pulako Initiative and annual recruitment of 30,000 new police personnel are Key Performance Indicators of this government.
“Only recently, this government declared a state of emergency in agriculture and launched the National Agricultural Development Fund with N100 billion, in addition to the Dry Season Farming Initiative and the Green Imperative Programme to ensure food security across the land.
“All these and other components of the 8-point Renewed Hope Agenda require the patriotic support and prayers for their deliverables to multiply at the doorsteps of Nogerians in the remaining three years of the first term of this government.”
—