Bauchi State chapter, People’s Redemption Party (PRP), Thursday gave a seven days ultimatum to Governor Bala to initiate a supplementary appropriation bill for the implementation of the 30,000 naira minimum wage in compliance with the provision of the National Minimum Wage Act 2019.
At a press conference held at the NUJ Secretariat in Bauchi, State Chairman of the party, Ahmed Umar Farouk said the party will seek legal action if the state government fails to do so within the period of the ultimatum.
He pointed out that, Bauchi State has been running its budget since the coming into force of the Act without any appropriation for the minimum wage requirement, saying it will be considered null and void.
The PRP Chairman said the National Minimum Wage Act 2019 in section 3(1) to be precisely mandated all employers of Labour- Bauchi State inclusive to pay a minimum wage of N30,000.00 (thirty thousand naira) only per month to every worker under their establishments.
He regretted that, for the last 2 years, Bauchi State has not attempted to comply with the requirement let alone implement it as required by the Act, adding that, the press conference is necessitated by the fact that the Party, has for long, waited in the face of violation of the law.
“Gentlemen of the press, as you are all aware, His Excellency, the Governor of Bauchi State only a couple of days ago signed into law the 2022 Bauchi State Appropriation Law which as you all know is the legal document that will guide the financial spending and expenditure of the State for the next fiscal year. Worrisome about this document is how it has consistently refused to be synchronized with the provision and requirement of the National Minimum Wage Act 2019- a statute of general application in Nigeria.
“The penalties for the violation of this law are well encapsulated therein. See also S. 9(2)(a)(b)(c) and S10 (2)(a) (b) of the Act and we intend to test the full application of this law.”
Umar Farouk who blamed union leaders and state Legislators for not doing the needful towards ensuring the implementation of the Act in the state said this cannot be further tolerated in Bauchi State- at least not by the party, but the entire stakeholders.
“It is amidst this bastardisation and the seeming unending strangulation of the civil servants of Bauchi State that we the members of the People Redemption Party Bauchi State chapter feel that enough is enough.”
The Chairman said PRP as a party would rise up with challenges facing the civil servants and called on all other political parties to join hands in respective of their political differences.
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