By Joe Ezuma
Assistant Editor, South South
Both Rivers Governor, Nyesom Wike, and Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in the 2015 election, Tonye Princewill, have voiced concern over the plight of workers pinned down by multiple hardships, now worsened by fuel price rise.
Wike emphasised national effort towards poverty reduction.
He spoke in Port Harcourt where he charged participants of Senior Executive course 38, Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) 2016 to proffer policy direction for Nigeria’s ailing economy.
Hosting the participants, who were in Rivers to research poverty level, he expressed the hope that their interaction with the residents of the state would facilitate their report that would help Abuja to formulate policy on poverty reduction and socio-economic growth.
Wike, represented by Deputy Governor, Ipalibo Banigo, said their visit to communities has proven that Rivers State is safe and hospitable as against misleading media reports of insecurity.
Princewill moaned that “our labour force is shrinking very fast, children are crying, while a majority of the nation is having sleepless nights just trying to find any way to survive. The situation is so bad that even paying salaries is now a lottery.
”Incomes are down, costs are up. It’s bad. Yet we can still put things right, if we put round pegs in round holes. We have no choice. We simply cannot give up. The Labour Party and the Labour movement must work in synergy for things to change.”
Princewill said the state of Nigeria’s economy demands that Labour plays a frontline role in modern day politics.
“The state of the nation and the state of this country cannot be divorced from the state of the Labour movement. This is the case everywhere and so Nigeria’s own is not going to be any different.
”A weak nation, a weak country, and a weak economy can only mean a weak Labour. Politics is way too important to be left to politicians.”
In his view, if the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the LP join forces, the outcome for Nigeria would be good news, as the “creation of jobs is bound to be central” to such an alliance.
“Combined, we can either make the difference or help decide who does.”
