By: Olusegun Lawrence The National Conference Secretariat has granted the request of the leadership of Standing Committees who requested for extension of time to enable them meaningfully conclude their work and submit thorough reports.
They observed that the time given for Committee work was grossly inadequate considering the workload, a situation which was further compounded by public holidays that ate into the time for committee work.
It was also noted that since some delegates are going to be involved in the Economic Summit which begins on Monday in Abuja, and others will be dislodged from their accommodation at the Hilton, it was necessary to extend the period for committee work to accommodate the exigencies and also allow for thorough work to be done.
Consequently, the Committees have been given up to Thursday May 15, 2014 to conclude work and submit their reports as deliberations at plenary is expected to resume on Monday, May 19, 2014.
Earlier in the day, the leaderships of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) had visited the Committee to protest what they called the migration of labour issues from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent List.
President of NLC, Abdulwaheed Omar told the Committee that such a migration would affect the minimum wage which remains the right of workers under the law.
He pleaded with the Committee to reconsider its decision as 92% of the countries of the world put labour matters under the Exclusive Legislative List for the sake of protecting the workers whom he described as the most important resource in any country.
Omar urged the Committee not to make Nigeria a part of what he called a global tiny dictatorship that places workers’ issues at the mercy of state governors.
President of TUC, Kaigama Bala Bobboi, said placing labour issues under the Concurrent Legislative List would lead to having disjointed remuneration system in the country.
Describing labour as a national issue, Bobboi told the Committee members that it had become necessary that some protection be provided for the workers.
NLC’s chief economist, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, said labour as a factor of production must not be left to the vagaries of multiple jurisdictions which would be inevitable if labour issues were taken to the Concurrent Legislative List.
Responding, Attah informed the labour leaders, who are also delegates to the conference, that the movement of labour issues to Concurrent Legislative List did not mean that the Federal Government no longer had control over labour matters.
He explained that being on the Concurrent Legislative List simply meant that if the Federal Government were to make any law regarding labour matters, such legislation will override that of any state.
At the sitting of the Committee on Economy, Trade and Investment, a professor of economics at the University of Abuja, Olaniyan, analysed the state of the economy, identified challenges confronting the economy and proffered solutions that can aid the attainment of Vision 20-2020.
He gave a run-down of Nigeria’s resource endowment to include a large expanse of arable land, well irrigated by water; about 800 million tonnes of iron reserves and a large lead belt stretching from Imo to Anambra State. He also mentioned coal deposits in Kogi State that could give the nation electricity for the next 100 years.
He noted that the rising poverty level in the country was basically because 70 per cent of the economy of labour is engaged in Agriculture compared to EU where 74 percent are engaged in services while 22 percent is engaged in agriculture.
At the Committee on Political Parties and Electoral Matters, the chairman of the sub-committee on the Role of Judiciary in Elections, Mr Festus Okoye, submitted a report which suggested the need for a special court for election matters.
