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Edo State governor,
Adams Oshiomhole yesterday called on labour leaders to help promote the
call for better governance in the country. Mr Oshiomhole, who made this
call in his message to Nigerian workers to mark the 2011 May Day
celebration, he said Nigerian workers should stand to be counted in the
struggle for the enthronement of true democracy at all levels in the
country, saying that only leaders who are truly elected by the people
will be accountable to the people, including the workers.

“I salute workers
on the occasion of another May Day today; however workers should not
keep quiet in the face of oppression by political actors,” he said.

“As a matter of
fact, workers’ voices should be loudest in the call for the
enthronement of true democracy, because when political leaders are
truly elected, the interest of workers, the nation’s wealth creators,
will be uppermost in their minds. Conversely, people who rig themselves
into office will only cater for the interests of their political
godfathers and other acolytes.” On the revenue allocation formula, Mr
Oshiomhole, who was a former president of the Nigeria Labour Congress
(NLC) said: “The revenue allocation formula gives so much money to
Abuja and Abuja has far more money than it needs. For every one naira
that accrues to the federation, Abuja collects 52 percent of it, then
the states plus FCT plus the 774 local governments collect the
remaining 46.4 percent.

“Workers should
join the clamour for the change in this anomaly so as not to give some
state governments an excuse on the payment of the new minimum wage.”

Good elections

He also praised
President Goodluck Jonathan for providing the political leadership
needed for one man one vote to prevail in the just-concluded general
elections in the country. Speaking at the 2011 Annual Dinner and Awards
of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in Lagos
last weekend, Mr Oshiomhole also gave kudos to the Nigerian Army for
its neutral role in the elections and not allowing itself to be used as
an appendage of the ruling party. He said the Army demonstrated its
loyalty to the Nigerian nation and not to any individual or political
party. “President Jonathan, unlike a former President who preached
do-or-die politics, provided the enabling political environment, where
the votes of the people counted and results were not determined by
thugs and bullets,” he said. He said this accounted for the loss of the
ruling party in states like Oyo and Ogun. He also gave special
commendation to the Chief of Army Staff, O.A. Ihejirika for providing
the leadership for the Army to defend democracy, saying, after all,
there was a Chief of Army Staff in 2007 when the controversial general
elections were held.