The Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnics (SSANIP) has raised concerns over prolonged delay in the implementation of the New Minimum Wage since it’s been signed into law by the President Bola Tinubu.
SSANIP maintained that the delay in the payment of the new wage was causing a lot of financial constraints and economic hardship for Nigerian workers.
The Polytechnics workers said this in a communiqué issued at the end of its 73rd General Executive Council (GEC) meeting in Abuja.
The communiqué, which was signed by the National President of SSANIP, Comrade Philip Adebanjo Ogunsipe, and the National Secretary, said: “Council in session observed with dismay the prolonged delay in the implementation of the New Minimum Wage since it’s been signed into law by the President of Nigeria.
“The unnecessary delay is causing a lot of financial constraint and economic hardship on Nigerian workers.”
SSANIP appealed to the Federal Government to fast-track the process so that workers would not be reduced to beggars, as the current take-home was “nothing good to write home about.”
On the removal of fuel subsidies, SSANIP said. “The Council condemned in totality the arbitrary increase in the price of petroleum products, thereby further impoverishing and exacerbating the pains of Nigerians.
“The Council is even more worried that the humongous $20 billion spent over time for the turn-around maintenance of the refineries has yielded no result; rather, it has gone down the drains, resulting in untold excruciating pains being felt by Nigerians.
“Council therefore beckoned on all concerned to rejig the architecture for a total turn-around maintenance of the Nigeria refineries for the betterment of Nigerian citizens.
“Equally, it urged the Federal Government of Nigeria to reverse the price of the Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS) to its original price to bring succour and relief to the suffering masses.”
SSANIP also expressed worry that the Nigerian currency was rated as one of the ten worst-performing currencies in the world.
This, according to SSANIP, was largely due to the sudden removal of fuel subsidy, the floating of the naira, and other harsh economic policies of the present administration.
The communique added: “No matter how good the policies are or may look like, Council felt it was ill-timed, as this has created untold hardship on Nigerians.
“It therefore called on the government to review all these draconian policies to reduce the rate of poverty and prevailing economic woes as it’s presently been experienced in the country.”
The union expressed concern over the attitude of some State Polytechnics and similar institutions in the appointment of their Principal Officers in clear violation of the approved templates for the appointment of such officers by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).
SSANIP therefore called on the NBTE to sanction such erring institutions in accordance with its recent circular on the matter to curtail this ugly development.
On the delay in accessing retirement benefits by retirees, SSANIP frowned at the suffering and unbearable pains being experienced by the officers who had retired after they had meritoriously served their fatherland.
“The most unfortunate aspect of this painful scenario was that these people, after working assiduously, committedly, and after attaining the age of 65, are now being reduced to beggars pleading for alms and support from dependents and relatives.
“More worrisome is the fact that those who retired for over a year now have not been able to access their retirement benefits as a result of non-disbursement of the accrued rights due to them by the Federal Government.
“It enjoined the government to release the accrued rights to the PFAs without further delay to alleviate the sufferings of these elderly citizens and bring succour to their various families,” the communiqué added.