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Government has
taken steps towards growing the economy with corresponding increase in
people’s welfare and job creation, Vice President Namadi Sambo said
yesterday during this year’s Workers’ Day celebration at the Eagle
Square, Abuja.

Mr Sambo, who stood
in for President Goodluck Jonathan, said his administration places
emphasis on alleviating the socio-economic problems that have
bedevilled the country, with a view to improving the living standards
of the Nigerian workers.

“Government is
committed to tackling our developmental challenges, by among other
things, laying a solid foundation for sustainable poverty reduction,
employment generation, wealth creation, value re-orientation and steady
power supply,” he said.

Mr Sambo also
reminded the workers of the commitment Mr Jonathan made last year,
which was to ensure that the forthcoming elections would become the
reference point for free, fair and credible elections in Africa, to
ensure the demand for relativity in pay in the civil service, and a new
minimum wage for Nigerian workers.

He said all those
promises had been addressed and that government had also signed into
law the Employee Compensation Act, with provisions for an open and fair
system of guaranteed and adequate compensation for workers.

While noting that
appropriate public policy framework to implement the National Action
Plan on Employment Creation is to be adopted as a strategic national
working document and incorporated into the development plans, he said
that in order to provide jobs, the sum of N50bn had been provided for
job creation in the 2011 budget.

While urging the
labour movement to accept responsibilities along with government in its
on-going efforts toward consolidating democracy in the country, the
vice president said “providence has bestowed on Nigeria all it takes
(human and material resources) to make her the real giant of Africa and
to make enormous contributions, regionally and globally”.

He said this can
only be possible if the nation’s immense potential waiting to be
unleashed, and talents to be tapped are harnessed for employment and
wealth creation.

Praise for Jonathan

President of the
Nigerian Labour Congress, Abdulwaheed Omar, expressed his appreciation
to President Jonathan, saying his participation in the May 2010 Workers
Day and the import of his speech led to some remarkable changes, if not
a leap forward, in the conditions of workers and our electoral process.

He congratulated
Messrs Jonathan and Sambo “for emerging victorious in the last
presidential elections through the clear mandate of a majority of the
Nigerian people”.

He also commended
the commitment, courage and integrity of Independent National Electoral
Commission chairman, Attahiru Jega, whom he said has lived up to the
expectations of many Nigerians and the international community.

He urged government
to tackle the issues of unemployment, cost of electricity tariff, high
cost of governance, corruption and implementation of the new minimum
wage which has been signed into law.

Others who spoke at the occasion were the ministers of Federal
Capital Territory, Bala Mohammed; Labour, Productivity and Interior,
Emeka Wogu, and president general of Trade Union Congress of Nigerian,
Peter Esele.