'NIGERIA IS NOT A FAILED COUNTRY'- NLC/TUC

Organised Labour Movement has affirmed that
despite many problems facing Nigeria, the country
is not a failed state.
The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria and the
Nigeria Labour Congress stated this in separate
statements issued to mark the country’s 55th
Independence anniversary on Thursday in Lagos.
On his part, the TUC President, Bobboi Kaigama
expressed hope that Nigeria would surely come
out of its many challenges.
The labour leader stated that some of the
challenges confronting the country were fueled by
ethnicity, nepotism, unemployment, poverty and
hunger, widespread corruption, non-ideology
based politics, insecurity, insurgency and
kidnapping.
According to him, others were mismanaged
economy, free-fall of the Naira, high taxation,
increase in electricity billing systems and
casualisation of labour.
He said countries that were advanced in their
democracies also had their peculiar problems, “yet
their citizens have not dismissed them or redrawn
their maps.”
Similarly, NLC President, Mr. Ayuba Wabba, also
enjoined Nigerians to support the President in
delivering improved governance.
Wabba blamed the performance of the economy
before the general elections on dwindling oil sales
in the international market, fiscal indiscipline,
rising cost of governance and unhelpful macro-
economic policies.
Accoring to him, not all ministries, departments
and agencies were paid, and apart from some
states, the rest were unable to pay salaries or
pensions, leading to a backlog of up to six months
or more of unpaid salaries.