- * 'We Shall Be Worker's Friendly For Economic Development, Assures Peter Mbah
- 'Be Steadfast And Remain Committed To Our State'.....Edeoga
By Chinelo Ogbodo (Enugu State Correspondent)
Governor-elect of Enugu State, Barrister Peter Ndubisi Mbah and his Labour Party gubernatorial counterpart in the last general elections in the state, Barrister Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga, have felicitated with the workers of Enugu state and Nigeria in general on the occasion of today's May Day observed across the globe.
Mbah, through a press statement by the head of his media office, Dan Nwomeh, particularly congratulated all workers in the state and Nigeria at large, both those working in the public and private sectors, commending their efforts and sacrifices for the nation’s development over the years.
He promised that his administration would be worker’s friendly, and will also promote the welfare of public servants through sustainable reforms, productivity, and constructive engagement that would eradicate poverty, insecurity, urban slums and raise the standard of living in the state.
While assessing the theme of this year’s International Workers’ Day, also known as May Day, “Workers Rights and Socio-economic Justice”, Mbah said the main pivot of his Social Charter with the people of the state as contained in his manifesto, is to catalyze speedy economic growth that would ensure socio-economic justice for all the citizens.
He said, “The 2023 International Worker’s Day theme, ‘Workers Rights and Socio-economic Justice’ which revolves around our Social Charter with the good people of Enugu State is not by coincidence. Our plans for Ndi Enugu State are to formulate and implement impactful policies that will improve their standard of living and ensure that life is pleasurably livable for them while factoring in other essentials that restore human dignity.
“Let me reiterate our commitment to the welfare of our workers since we will achieve nothing much without empowering and equipping the drivers of our development plan. Our workers will be adequately trained and compensated for their labour. We will strive to ensure that no worker lives below the poverty line.
“We are also in a hurry to raise the per capita income of every worker in the state through policies in agriculture and agro-allied industrialisation, education and vocational training, healthcare services, power and energy sector, tourism and hospitality and our digital programming and other innovative technology action plan for the youths.
“In so doing, we will be facilitating the training and upskilling of our farmers through our support programmes for sustainable agro-allied revolution; overhaul and re-equip our healthcare system with qualified medical personnel especially those in the rural communities as part of workers rights; and also ensure access to safe and clean water. The good news is that we have already embarked on the journey of bringing safe and clean water to every home, and our 180 days promise reminds intact.
“We are equally concerned that we cannot achieve socio-economic justice vis-à-vis workers rights without adequately and deliberately bridging the gap of gender inequalities. Our administration will not only guarantee social rights for our women, it will also engender economic opportunities that will stamp out poverty and ensure a healthy, functional social co-existence,” part of the statement reads.
The Governor-elect also noted that his administration’s proposed $30 billion dollars economy would not be possible without a healthy social capital between investors and workers, and harmonization of all the factors of production, vowing to create an environment that would be investors’ friendly and attractive incentives for the private sector through transparency, rule of law and accountability. He used the opportunity to call on potential investors to consider visiting the state for business.
In his own message to the Enugu workers, the Labour Party, LP, gubernatorial candidate in the State, Hon Chijioke Edeoga, extolled the virtues of Enugu workers, describing them as some of Nigeria’s most enlightened, patient and vibrant.
In a Workers' Day message released in Enugu, Hon Edeoga observed that Enugu workers had set the tone for the rapid development of the state with their exemplary passion and commitment and just waiting for a visionary leadership that would set and restore Enugu to the path of accelerated growth.
He assured the workers that Labour Party will reclaim its mandate allegedly stolen by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which he claimed had brought hardship and disillusionment to the citizens.
Edeoga said those who rigged the governorship election for the PDP in Enugu, after the party had allegedly lost the Presidential, Senatorial, House of Representatives and 14 out of 24 member House of Assembly elections, were not intelligent.
His words, "We won the Presidential and governorship elections in Enugu. We won two out of the three Senate seats and seven out of the eight House of Representatives seats. We won 14 out of the 24 -member House of Assembly elections. We won the governorship also. "We won election in 16 out of the 17 local governments. We won everything but INEC took our result to Abuja; did their Voodoo Arithmetic or Mathematics and said we lost and challenged us to go to court. INEC took our results to Abuja and changed it there. INEC and PDP do not own the courts. The courts belong to all of us and we are hopeful that the right thing will be done and we shall laugh last. We shall reclaim our victory.
"They did it with impunity, working in cahoot with the supposed Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), but they were not intelligent enough to understand that stealing somebody's property and challenging him/her to go to court would not solve the problems. Their alterations, multiplications, subtractions and additions were wrong. They do not add up and they will lose woefully at the Tribunal.
According to him, "Enugu workers have always played a very supportive role to successive administrations in the hope that they had the best intentions for Enugu. Sadly in some cases, they have been let down by the poverty of vision that has characterised PDP's leadership of the state in the past 24 years."
He urged the workers and other residents to remain steadfast in their commitment to the state because the political leadership that Labour Party will provide would be perfectly aligned to their hopes and expectations for a greater Enugu State.
"We have it on good authority that Enugu workers and residents massively voted for Labour in the last gubernatorial election and we are already in the court to retrieve that mandate. I assure Enugu workers of a more responsive and progressive administration that will enthrone a new development paradigm in the state," he further declared. NNL.