 We're glad to know you're still there. It's still the breakfast and like the song somewhere last last, everybody go job breakfast. It seems that is what is happening to us in Nigeria right now. Everybody seems to be struggling to make ends meet and because of that the NLC is threatening nationwide strike and they're demanding the reversal of petrol price among other things. That's not just the only thing that they are talking about. We're glad to have today the chairman Ratau Lagos State and the PRO NLC Lagos in the person of Comrade Ismail Adejumo. Good morning and welcome to the program Comrade. Thank you very much for having me on your breakfast show. It's my pleasure to be here. Okay, federal government is asking for more time. Labor is saying it has to be second of August. Let us know what the mind of NLC is regarding the issues that have been tabled before the government and the call from the federal government that you should give them more time. Thank you very much. I want to first and foremost appreciate the general labor congress leadership and the workers in general and the masses for these long-time patients. We have been quite very patient with this government and you agree with me that prior to the first increment that came up that labor threatened to embark on a strike and a protest but it was averted because of the intervention of very senior citizens and veteran comrades who believe that it is still early in this administration to start the government without any form of confidence in the leadership and that was the part we told but unfortunately the committee that was set up by the government to work out the palliatives and the social interaction committee that we cushioned the effect of the removal of the subsidy as it seems to have been abandoned. It seems to have been abandoned because the government now you know are going in a bit different direction which is giving the masses and the civil society and all other well-meaning Nigerians concern that this pain is too much. We are being pushed almost to the wall. The workers cannot survive anymore to commit from your place of work to back to your home becoming very difficult and even to sustain feeding on the daily basis for a worker not to even talk of people who don't have a pay job is becoming so strenuous and is becoming unbearable. It is at this very critical juncture that the leadership of Nigeria Labor Congress arising from a central working committee meeting head on Tuesday took a decision that there is need to give government seven days notice at least to reverse this last increment. Let status quo until remain based on the initial agreement to go into dialogue work out the implementation framework for this subsidy remover and at least pushing the effects in the interview before the increment in minimum wage and all other palliatives. That is the position of NLC is very simple and if you feel the pulse of an average Nigerian today everybody is agitated and we don't want Nigeria to be thrown into chaos or a situation whereby the government that just came in on a renewal that we so much believe we're going to deliver on his mandate are being frustrated with agitation. So we are not people. Nigeria Labor Congress in particular disposed to constructive dialogue engagement with the government that would bring a fruitful resource that will be beneficial to not only the workers but the cities in general. So that's the position. Yeah the position is clear but your demands are numerous a lot of them one of them is on the fuel subsidy removal at the palliative and all that to revet to the old pump price which if you ask me is not in the hands of the government anymore. There is this deregulation which means that the government has no hand in this is the private sector that is driving this. How do you want the government to remove the price and return it to the status quo as you're calling it when it is out of their power. In a completely regulated economy as you know I don't think even the NNPC have the power to go about fixing the price. If truly we have been completely deregulated the forces of demand and supply will determine what the pump price will be and of recent after the first increment that led to negotiation for government to you understand the government have licensed some other people to import fuel into the country with the view to break the monopoly of NNPC. NNPC cannot be the seller and the buyer they understand that is the position of NNPC there is no transparency in that let all dark players in the industry compete and will be able to at least assess the flow of importing and exporting. But the bottom line when labor is concerned is the area of our revenue. If our revenue are working even if it is two is one of the conditions for the suspension of the last strike. If the protocol revenue is working optimally and maybe worry revenue this will have pushing the the effect of importing and exporting which is taking the price out of the reach of an average Nigeria. We can be a high producing nation and will be suffering because of poor management of our revenue. The fourth national revenue are in comatose and we have been promised that by the end of this year what I call a binary will come on stream. If that come on stream then it will leave the body look at recently now from the price up to about six something in some states and that is how it will be going. But if the local production is well managed it will reduce the burden of import and export which is putting more stress on our foreign exchange. So that is the portion of the labor. But labor also asks for 200,000 naira minimum wage and we know that 30,000 naira has not been implemented at least by a lot of states. How practical do you think or practicable do you think that might be in this economy. We're struggling that's what the government keeps saying that we don't have money in this country and that's one of the reasons the fuel subsidy was removed. So now how do you think that will be attainable in the situation that the government finds itself. Thank you very much. The issue of minimum wage is a matter of law. Every five years it is statutory for governments to review the minimum wage of workers in line with the current economy reality. The current economy reality of Nigerian today is that 30,000 is no more feasible. Everybody knows that. Both the public and private sector employer knows that you cannot go to market with even 30,000 and get a bag of rice today. So therefore the minimum wage review is due next year. But the situation we find ourselves now is that the government become imperative of government to remove subsidy. Good. Removing the subsidy it has to come with some palliatives and these palliatives should have been rolled out in churches at least to start with before the outright remover. What the labor is saying is that it's like want to give somebody an injection. You don't just carry the needle and shoot it like that. You need to rub the surface, make it soft in a way that when you put and put the needle it will go softly and the person will not feel too much pain. That is the position of the labor and all the citizens read that the subsidy of a thing is what we believe to go because of the corruption and the shady deal that is engulfed with the whole process. Now it all comes to a clear hand. We want the government to engage the labor in this very issue which is ongoing. But it seems the government have deviated and abandoned the committee. But as of yesterday we heard that the government have invited the union leaders because of this notice to come back to the table and dialogue and resolve the issue once and for all so that Nigerians we understand will overcome this pain. This pain is too much. It's too much. People are dying. Some are dying of hunger. I must confess to you. It depends on the area you are. You understand? So the injury to one is injury to all. It's not only the working class. Everybody is affected, both the public and the private. So the minimum wage of a thing, if the governors who are collecting new allocation now running into billions cannot justify by paying the required minimum wage that's approved by law, then the citizens who are voting them and electing them should check themselves. But the Nigerian government at the national level have been very, very magnanimous. Have been coming to terms that the governors who are collecting allocation, they are not being properly checked through the state assembly and necessary agency to collect allocation on their part. Nothing is really impacting the lives of some of the states. So if they fail to pay 30,000 minimum wage, I wonder what will happen now. As some of them, the last allocation for the month of June, running into billions, about triple or I don't know. Yeah, almost triple. Almost three previous months. How is this going to impact in the lives of people who are hearing that they are giving 8,000, 10,000 as the case may be? What can you do with 10,000? You can't feel 8,000. You can't feel, you can't buy a 10-liter of fuel with this new rate with 8,000. Okay, let's look at this. Before we wrap up, let's look at this. All the demands that you've had, yes, they are good. But what if the government cannot implement these demands at the time you want them to implement? What are some of the most pressing you think should be addressed before maybe if you are giving time to the government, you can give time to the government? Like they say, what are the lowest-hanging fruits that you want the government to pluck before going further to do other things if they cannot implement everything at the same time? Thank you very much. The Niger Labor Congress in Lagos State arising from our State Executive Council meeting, I'm talking for Lagos, on Tuesday, we have resolved through a communique sent to our working governor, Governor Babaji de Saoulu, who is a listening governor, to look into the area of transportation, subsidizing the mass transport in Lagos. At least the BRT Calricard can now be subsidized and be given to workers and the citizens in a subsidized manner to enable them to commute easily from their place of work back to their various homes. We have also proposed in our communique that in the area of food, stable food items, the government should acquire and resolve to the citizens and workers at a subsidized rate to cushion the effects of this subsidiary mover. This will go a long way. We have also equally demanded and proposed to the governor of Lagos State to look in the area of cash grants, at least minimum of $3,000 because Lagos State is a peculiar state. This is a city, we are city workers and we deem itself city weight or city package. If other states are proposing $10,000 or $8,000 as the case may be, Lagos should at least be looking towards $50,000. That is our at least minimum proposal to the governor. I would believe governor of Lagos before the government even increased the last peculiar allowance, he has given $20,000 increment to the workers' salary in Lagos because he understands the pace of Lagos workers in terms of house rent, in terms of school fees, in terms of transportation, the cost of food items and the social needs in Lagos are very exorbitant and the government is so sensitive to quickly do that. So other states should follow suit and do the same thing. We are not having much issue with our government in Lagos State because it is a listening government. He believes and understands the pace of Lagos and the workers in Lagos and we always come to terms through a proactive policy to cushion the effect of all this likely policy that will affect an ordinary citizen. So we still want to implore the government to engage the labor movement, the workers, the workers representative, Niger Labor Congress in particular in Lagos through the social dialogue and policy that we bring direct circle to the workers and the cities. We are ready to support the government. The so-called rail transports in Lagos, we want the governor to fast track it. This will enable easy movement of people within the city and we believe soon as all these things will come to lamb light. So those are the points we are making in Lagos. We don't have much issue with our government in Lagos. We are only trying to let Lagos be a model to other states to follow suit. I'm glad you have passed the vote of confidence on the governor of Lagos State. I hope that every other person will see the government of Lagos through the same eyes as you because otherwise there will be impatience in a few days if these things continue the way they are continuing or the way they are happening right now. We do hope that solutions will come and we'd like to thank the NLC for being proactive and making sure that the government sits up to do what they need to do. Comrade Ismail at Dejumo, thank you so much for coming on the show. Thank you very much for having me. It's my pleasure to be in the first show. Thank you. Well, Comrade Adejumo is a Chairman Ratau Lagos and the PRO of NLC here in Lagos State. He was talking with us. We are going to take a short break and when we return we go to other issues. Stay with us.